Assessing inappropriate fire interest using virtual reality: an investigation in community and clinical populations

Inappropriate fire interest is a key risk factor for deliberate firesetting, yet current assessments rely heavily on self-report measures involving imagined scenarios. This two-part study investigated whether virtual reality (VR) offers a more ecologically valid alternative for assessing fire interest. In Study 1, 140 adult males from the community were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: an immersive Virtual Reality Fire Assessment (VRFA), a Televised Fire Assessment (TFA), or an Imagined Fire Assessment (IFA). Measures included heart rate, verbal appraisals, and behavioural engagement. While VR elicited greater presence and more extreme emotional responses, high fire interest did not predict greater interaction in the VRFA. Study 2 replicated the design in a pilot study with a secure psychiatric sample (N = 32), comparing individuals with and without a history of firesetting. Firesetting individuals provided more positive fire appraisals, and some recalled personal firesetting experiences, suggesting potential clinical insight. However, behavioural measures did not reliably distinguish firesetting individuals from controls. Findings suggest VR is a feasible and ethically acceptable method for assessing fire-related interest, but its diagnostic utility remains limited.