POLSON — The Polson Volunteer Fire Department received grant funding to the tune of $1,100 last week from property insurance company FM Global to pay for fire prevention programming.

Polson Fire Chief John Fairchild said the program will focus on juvenile fire-setting and educating at-risk young people on the dangers and consequences of experimenting with fire.

“If we can save even one life from this program — then $1,100 is cheap,” Fairchild said.

The funds will specifically be put toward purchasing informational DVD videos and a laptop computer to show them on. The laptop will also be used in Chief Fairchild’s service SUV, utilizing a mapping program to locate addresses of fires the volunteer department responds to.

The fire chief explained that the videos to be shown in the program are indeed graphic, but that the graphic nature of the information is intended to show the harsh realities of what can happen when playing with fire. The stories on the videos are true to life and told by burn victims and family members of fire victims.

Fairchild said the fire district does not currently have a big problem with juvenile firesetting, but added he felt it was only a matter of time. Beyond his day job, the subject matter is something that the longtime chief knows plenty about with two children of his own growing excited to firesetting at very young ages — catching fire to the home several times.

“It’s a curiosity, but sometimes you can stop it in its tracks,” Fairchild said. “The aim of this new program is to accomplish getting a young person in here and stopping it early.”

 Some common warning signs, that the chief said, are not always tell-tale indicators, are a child who: Tips a candle and watches it burn; sets fire to paper to watch it burn; fascination with lighters or matches — including stealing them or hiding them in their room or a secret spot; or always wanting to blow out a match, candle, or lighter flame.

“These are different on a case-to-case basis, but if we can stop it early then maybe we won’t have to go to their house that accidentally catches on fire,” Fairchild added.

The Polson fire chief hopes anyone who has noticed several warning sign behaviors or is concerned their child may be excited with fire will call the fire department at 883-8220 for more information.

As fire continues to be the leading cause of commercial and industrial property damage worldwide, FM Global has contributed millions of dollars to fire services and agencies across the globe for over three decades.

“At FM Global, we believe the majority of property damage is preventable — not inevitable — and we are pleased to make funding available to organizations like the Polson Volunteer Fire Department that share the same philosophy,” said Michael Spaziani, manager of FM Global’s Fire Prevention Grant Program.

“After all, it’s much better to prevent a disaster than to recover from one.”