Firesetting Risk Interview (FRI)
Definition
A companion parent-report instrument developed alongside the Kolko CFI that provides a structured parental account of the child's fire-setting behaviour, enabling cross-validation of the child's self-report.
- Full name
- Firesetting Risk Interview
- Respondent
- Parent, not the child
- Companion instrument
- Kolko Children's Firesetting Interview (CFI)
- Purpose
- Cross-validates the child's self-reported fire-setting history
Common questions
Why collect a parent report alongside the child's own interview?+
Children who set fires may minimise or fail to recall incidents, especially younger children or those with limited insight. A parent's independent account catches episodes the child omits and flags inconsistencies worth exploring further with the child directly.
Does disagreement between the child and parent accounts indicate the child is lying?+
Not necessarily. Discrepancies can reflect the parent's limited direct observation, the child's developmental stage, or genuine differences in what each party considers a fire-setting incident, so the clinician weighs both accounts rather than treating either as definitive.
Related terms
- Arson Motive Classification
- The systematic categorisation of the reasons an arsonist sets a fire, most commonly using the FBI Crime Classification Manual six-category framework: vandalism,...
- Children's Firesetting Interview (CFI)
- A structured clinician-administered assessment instrument developed by David Kolko at the University of Pittsburgh to evaluate fire history, fire knowledge, curiosity about...
- ENFSI Best Practice Manual
- The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes Fire and Explosions Investigation Working Group guidance document for fire and explosion investigation across European...
- FBI Crime Classification Manual (CCM)
- A reference manual published by the FBI Behavioral Science Unit classifying crimes including arson by motive and offender behaviour pattern; the standard...
- Geographic Profiling
- A spatial analysis technique originally developed by Kim Rossmo that predicts the likely home or anchor point of a serial offender from...
- Hero Arsonist
- An excitement-motivated arsonist who is also a first responder (firefighter, emergency medical technician) who sets fires to create opportunities to demonstrate competence...
- Organised vs Disorganised Fire-Setting
- A FBI CCM behavioural axis: an organised fire-setter prepares in advance, uses purposeful ignition devices, and selects the ignition point deliberately; a...
- Pyromania
- A DSM-5 impulse-control disorder characterised by deliberate and purposeful fire-setting on multiple occasions, with tension or affective arousal before the act and...
- Serial Arson
- Typically defined as three or more separate fire-setting incidents at different locations and times by the same offender, with a cooling-off period...