My character accidently burned down his high school (thanks to fire powers he couldn't control) and he didn't pull the alarm as he ran. Besides possible ptsd, what are some ramifications of his actions? His girlfriend also died in the fire.
Okay, I know you’re asking me this in regards to the psychological ramifications of this thing. But I was talking to @scripteducator about this and there are some major things you need to consider.
Most schools are usually big old stone buildings with uber fire protection so it’s HARD to burn the entire thing down, unless he went nuclear.
Schools are some of the most hard core fire protected buildings out there. Like, twice yearly inspections, sprinklers, regular fire drills.
It’s amazing the disaster plans schools have. There was a horrible fire in a catholic school, and the whole country got HARDCORE about school firecodes.
[Shrink’s note - the fire in question is the Our Lady of the Angels School fire. Only read that link if you’re not faint of heart - it’s truly horrifying, and there’s pictures of some of the victims].
The people in the immediate room might die. But I can guarantee that A) someone else would pull the alarm, and B) most are so hardcore zoned off into like fire areas that it wouldn’t get past that area. Automatic firedoors man.
As for how they’d deal with him [if he wasn’t straight up arrested and jailed for arson]? Yeah, at the very least they’d send him to one of the special behavioral centers, if not juvie. If he goes to juvie it’s not our problem anymore, but the systems problem.
If you have any further questions about schools react to fires, send them to @scripteducator!
Also, “he didn’t pull the alarm as he ran” - that’s not how fire alarms work. They’d automatically be triggered if they detected fire, regardless of whether the alarm was pulled or not.
Honestly, Anon, I’d recommend having your character burn down something a bit less prepared for disasters, such as a mall or restaurant.
BACK TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STUFF.
You’re right, PTSD / Acute stress is the obvious choice. I could see your character also developing panic attacks (see my demystifying post here!) - he could start freaking out because he’s scared of losing control of himself (which actually is one of the symptoms!).
He could also develop depression, especially if he blames himself excessively for his girlfriend’s death.
