By Karen Nugent, Telegram and Gazette Staff

When Southbridge Firefighter Rob Barton, the father of young twin boys, received a box of about 100 novelty cigarette lighters from the Maine state fire marshal, he was able to find toys in his house that matched 30 of the lighters. 

“They were identical — baseball bats, cars, frogs, cell phones,” he said. 

Mr. Barton, who is the coordinator of the Southern Worcester County Juvenile Fire-setter Intervention Program, eventually took 30 of the toylike lighters, along with 30 matching real toys, to a hearing before the state Legislature. He laid them out on a table, and asked if anyone could pick out the real toys. 

They couldn't. 

His point was made. 

“College-educated legislators could not tell the difference, and yet we expect kids to be able to,” Mr. Barton said. 

His effort, along with a bill filed by state Rep. Geraldo Alicea, D-Charlton, has resulted in Massachusetts becoming the 14th state to ban novelty lighters. 

Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed the bill into law Monday, and stores have 90 days to get them off the shelves. There is an exemption for collectible lighters made before 1980, and certain disposable lighters with artwork. Also, the law does not apply to the interstate transport of lighters not to be sold in Massachusetts. 

But the rubber ducky lighters, “Cape Cod” lobster claws, and those festive Christmas lighters that play a holiday tune when Santa's head is pressed will be gone. 

Jennifer L. Mieth, public information officer for the state Department of Fire Services, has her own collection of novelty lighters for demonstration purposes, including the Christmas model, and a lighter-pen that is indistinguishable from a real pen. 

“To make it look like an everyday object like that is very dangerous,” she said. 

Ms. Mieth said the lighters were generally sold in convenience and variety stores, and novelty gift shops. Mr. Barton said they are also widely available on eBay. His first encounter was a cell phone lookalike that lighted by pushing on a fake antenna. It was confiscated from a youth. 

Examples of novelty lighters sold nationwide include, ironically, models that mimic firetrucks, fire extinguishers, and a Dalmatian wearing a fire hat. 

Mr. Barton and Ms. Mieth agreed one of the more ridiculous examples is the yellow duck lighters, some of which actually make a quacking sound. 

“What grown adult wants a lighter that looks like a toy duck?” Mr. Barton asked. “Children love to play with lighters, and these appeal to children.” 

To make matters worse, he said, convenience stores, such as those at gas stations, often displayed novelty lighters out front, right above shelves of candy. 

Mr. Barton said he approached Southbridge Fire Chief Richard J. Ciesla Jr., who has worked much of his career in juvenile fire-setting prevention, after discussing the matter with Mr. Alicea a few years ago at a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony. 

Although the initial plan was a ban for Southbridge, Chief Ciesla suggested involving state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan, to make it statewide. 

Mr. Coan readily agreed, saying this week that novelty lighters have been responsible for injuries, deaths and accidents across the country. 

“When adults cannot tell the difference between these lighters and toys, how can we expect a young child to do so?” Mr. Coan said. 

Oregon led the way in the novelty lighter ban, Mr. Barton said. 

Chief Ciesla credited Mr. Barton for getting the law passed. 

“There is no valid reason for a lighter to look like a toy. It doesn't make sense,” the chief said. 

Although a 1994 law requires lighters be made child resistant, novelty lighters were exempted, for unclear reasons. None of the novelty lighters have child-resistant features, Mr. Barton said. However, he said that many children are able to figure out how to ignite lighters even with the child-proofing. 

“Children love to play with lighters. They figure it out,” he said. 

Ms. Mieth cited a national study in which 85 percent of children ages 3 to 5 were unable to light a child-resistant lighter. That means 15 percent of them could figure it out, she said. 

“We are starting to see a national decrease in juvenile fire setting, and we think it's because of the child resistance standard,” she said. “But kids' brains do not have the ability to understand how dangerous fire is, and how quickly it can spread.” 

A 2008 fire in Holyoke that killed four people — three children and a disabled adult — started in a home where there were lots of lighters lying around, Ms. Mieth said. 

“Someone gave them to kids to play with as toys. They were accustomed to playing with them,” she said. 

Mr. Barton said while it is impossible to control personal behavior, the novelty lighter ban is a step in the right direction. 

“We want kids to be less intrigued by this,” he said.