Revenge, anger and money drive most firefighter arsonists, says psychiatrist
'Hero' factor is strong motivator for some, says Dalhousie University's Dr. Scott Theriault
Most firefighter arsonists set fires for the same reasons other people do: revenge, money and anger, says a Nova Scotia forensic psychiatrist.
And sometimes, there's a reason specific to their profession — the desire to be a hero.
Dr. Scott Theriault, the clinical director of the Nova Scotia Health Authority's department of psychiatry and an associate professor at Dalhousie University, often works for the court system assessing criminal responsibility.
Anti-social behaviour
He says the number of firefighter arsonists is relatively small compared to the entire group of people who set fires, and most of them are motivated by the same things as non-firefighters.
"Often, it's part of a general pattern of anti-social behaviour and not specifically just fire-setting," he said.
Two Cape Breton volunteer firefighters — Scott Tremblett, 49, and James Clayton MacDonald, 24 — have been charged with setting multiple fires, mostly in vacant or abandoned structures, within the area serviced by their fire house in Florence.
The charges against them have not been proven in court.
Theriault is not involved the case and did not comment on it specifically.
Distorted perspective
He says "exclusive" fire-starters — arsonists who don't commit other crimes — are more likely to have other mental-health issues such as depression and personality disorders.
"People that are involved in fire services sometimes set fires because it allows them to benefit in a way from the fire setting," he said.
"Their reputation within the community or their sense of themselves as being important or contributing — from their somewhat distorted perspective — to the safety of the community by putting out the fire that they've just started."
Need to feel important
Theriault says there may be no way to know whether people with a fascination with fire join fire services because of it, or whether the impulse toward arson develops after joining.
"When you look just at the phenomenon of pyromania then it's usually a fascination with fire which sometimes starts in childhood and evolves from that," he said.
"But the flip side would be [that] somebody may become involved in an activity that has genuine societal importance and interest, such as being a firefighter, and then their own personal needs to feel that they're accomplished or doing something important with their life drives them to set the fires, which then come to attention later on."
With files from Cape Breton's Information Morning