The mother of a 5-year-old who started a fire that killed his 2-year-old sister blames the MTV cartoon "Beavis and Butt-head" for promoting burning as fun, a fire official said.
Fire Chief Harold Sigler said he wants the cable network to eliminate shows that might encourage playing with fire and would like to see violence on the show reduced."The mother is attributing the fact that he was fascinated with fire to the `Beavis and Butt-head' segment where they are setting things on fire," he said.
"When you take a child in the formative years and you get these cartoon characters saying it's fun to play with fire . . . this is going to stick in that kid's mind," he said.
The show features two teenagers who comment on rock videos and spend time burning and destroying things.
Austin Messner watched one show that had the cartoon characters saying fire is fun, Sigler said.
"According to the mother, right after that she caught him playing with matches," he said.
The mother was concerned enough that she took the boy's bedroom door off the hinges so she could watch him more closely, the fire chief said.
Carole Robinson, a spokeswoman for MTV, said the station will "re-examine issues regarding `Beavis and Butt-head' " in the aftermath of the death.
"We're not aware of all the facts, but obviously this event was a terrible tragedy," she said. "Responsibly programming MTV has always been and will continue to be our top priority."
Firefighters were called to the family's mobile home after the boy set his bed on fire while playing with a cigarette lighter.