A pioneering program in Montgomery County is helping teach kids how to eliminate dangerous behavior.
Operation Extinguish is a model program developed in 1984 by the Fire and Rescue Services in the county to provide intervention and educational services for juvenile fire setters and their families.
A fire caused $600,000 in damages to a Rockville home Monday. Fire officials said an 8-year-old boy playing with matches accidentally set the fire.
It's estimated that juveniles set nearly 65 percent of all arsons.
The program combines counseling and fire safety education in an effort to eliminate this kind of behavior.
"Most kids are crying out for help -- sending out some kind of smoke signal that something is awry," said Jude Marston, co-director of Operation Extinguish.
Marston said she has helped kids learn from their mistakes for more than 20 years. As director of Operation Extinguish she teaches first time offenders how to deal with their problems and change their behavior.
"There's a lot of confusion about why they set the fire. Occasionally it's accidental. The size of the fire does not indicate the size of the problem," said Marston.
The program is focused on children between the ages of 7 and 18. Operation Extinguish begins with an evaluation of the child and their family. Then the juvenile attends a series of classes that teach basic fire safety, examine the problems affecting their behavior and end with a presentation from a burn victim.
Fire officials said the program teaches the kids responsibility and accountability for their actions.
"Everybody makes mistakes. And it's an opportunity for these kids to get into a situation where they can learn a little more and understand the potential huge negative impact of their actions," said Bill Delaney of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue squad.
Marston said that the program has been a big success. The program received an award in 1985 from the National Association of Counties for being one of the outstanding juvenile justice programs in the United States.
Just 1 percent of the kids are believed to relapse and have to go through the program again.
Operation Extinguish is paid for through taxpayer funds and costs about $55,000 a year to operate.
For more information on this story: Click here for the Montgomery County Web Site
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