The fire the spread throughout the northern Los Angeles County on October 21, 2007 was started accidentally by a ten year old boy who was playing with matches, reporters indicated. So what do you do if someone as young as this kid commit a criminal act? Well, according to some legal experts, when someone under the age of 12 sets a fire, his/her actions are considered “playing with fire” and not arson. Eventhough there are exceptions to this distinction, they are rare.

Did you know that nationwide, an FBI report found that in 2003, 50.8% of those arrested on suspicion of arson were juveniles; a third of total arson arrests were of children under 15 and 3% were of those under 10? According to the National Fire and Protection Association, in 2002, children playing with fire started about 13,900 structure fires, causing 210 deaths.

Source: Los Angeles Times