The Fire Investigation Team is a group of individuals who have been trained and certified to respond to fires of an undetermined cause to investigate.  They include fire fighters and police detectives specially trained in fire cause and point of origin determination.  Many of the team members are active members in the International Association of Arson Investigators.  This team has the tools and expertise to conduct most routine investigations locally.  They also train and interface with the fire investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office on large dollar loss fires or those that involve personal injury or death.

Members of the fire investigation team also follow up on reports of children playing with fire and participate in the Cumberland County Juvenile Fire Safety Collaborative.  The mission of this collaborative is to identify juveniles that either have, or are at risk, for starting fires.  They have extensive training in juvenile behavior and conducting interviews.  They use proven screening tools to determine the child's risk and the best course of action to provide the juvenile the proactive assistance they require.

The collaborative includes members of law enforcement, school councilors, firefighters, mental health professionals, social workers, representatives from the department of corrections and educators.  Based on detailed assessments this collaborative has a wide range of resources to provide these juveniles ranging from attending a local fire safety school with their parents for cases that involve curiosity fire play, to more formal interventions with social services or mental health professionals when needed.

If you have a concern about a juvenile and fire safety or fire play, you are urged to contact the Fire Chief's office at 883-4542.  For more information on the Juvenile Fire Safety Collaborative you can visit their web site at: www.mainejfs.org