Should a 4-year-old who is fascinated with fire and has set a house fire that caused damage be psychologically evaluated?

Get in touch with your local fire department and see if they have a juvenile firesetter program or if they can refer you to one. I was a firesetter interviewer as a fire fighter, and found that most of these children lack a stable family environment. they seek attention and act out without really understanding the consequences. many times it is the absence of a father or other situation that causes stress for the child and they feel they have no control in their lives. A sudden move away from friends, for example. Sure fire curiosity is normal, and it was hopefully an accident and not intentional. However, children playing with fire are the cause of over 50 % of the fire deaths in America -so be careful with this one and please have him evaluated.