Arsonists caught on tape

Redwood City CA Aug 1989 Segment from Unsolved Mysteries. Videotape of arsonist narrating his own fire is found. Video describes investigation and outcome. Also shows some amazing vintage mustaches.
Speaking of arson, here is a short clip discussing the profiling of serial arsonists:




Here are facts about arson and serial arsonists: http://www.cbsnews.com/2316-100_162-562004-3.html




Exploring Arson Motives and Solutions, a discussion from Australia is here: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/A/1/8/%7BA18209AF-C67E-4E5E-9FCD-D5413DCA4686%7Dti236.pdf

Interesting stuff on Pyromania at Stranger than Fiction: http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/stranger-than-fiction/pyromania.html

Turns out they aren't all that bright:

Watch these guys set themselves on fire.






This guy runs into the lamp. Left side of the screen. It is awesome.

Arsonist Runs in to Lamp Post KO EPIC FUNNY FAIL OWNED - The best bloopers are here

The next video gave me goosebumps! The Moose and the Match,  the making of an arsonist. 

One day a moose found a box that said "match"
and he stumbled across an egg about to hatch
So the moose took a match and lit the egg on fire
and the life of the egg began to expire
So the moose went on to find something to do.
He found a cow-moose with eyes so blue.
Moose lit a candle for a romantic dinner-
or tried anyway- without her fur she looked thinner.
So the moose moved on-his matches beside him.
he burned everything so company was slim.
He got angry thinking of what he'd done.
so he lit another match and began to run.
He ran by the field, catching it in flame-
the whole forest burning he had no shame
He ran to the next woods, burning them all
every thing crumbling in ash- big or small.
So that's the story of the match-happy moose
who even burned off a part of his own caboose.
His profession is flames-he's an arsonist now.
How he ever lit that first match, I can't figure how.

Turns out the cats are in on it too!




Watch this baby's eyes. Future firefighter or fire setter? You be the judge.




Arson Resources
Juvenile Firesetters What Can You D?o Handout http://www.arlingtontx.gov/fire/pdf/Juvenile_fire_Setters[1].pdf
SD Burn Inst. Juvenile Firesetting http://www.burninstitute.org/fbp/programs/juvenile.html

Arson stories in the news http://www.newser.com/tag/10478/1/arson.html

Training

Certified Fire Investigator Training http://cfitrainer.com/
Interfire.org http://www.interfire.org/
USFA Arson  http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/subjects/arson/index.shtm
Firesetting by Children & Adolescents: Coffee Break Training http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/coffee-break/fm/fm_2011_4.pdf

Surgery Fires- Do you know what causes them?

Playgrounds shut after a freak fire

Playgrounds shut after a freak fire | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
ARLINGTON — Arlington school officials have temporarily closed 20 playgrounds after a spontaneous combustion fire at a school playground last week.

Security video from Anderson Elementary School showed the fire breaking out with no sign of arson or other vandalism. Officials blamed Thursday's fire on the spontaneous combustion of the decomposing wood fiber surface of the playground.

Authorities say recent heavy rain left some material soaked, then it began decomposing in this month's hot weather.

Superintendent Mac Bernd says pea gravel will replace the wood chips on those playgrounds.

The changes are expected to be made within two weeks. Texas children prepare to return to classes Aug. 27.

13-year-old girl charged with murdering relative in arson fire

The 13-year-old step-granddaughter of a Sprenger Avenue man who died in a fire early Friday at his house was charged with deliberately setting the blaze.

The girl, whose name was withheld because of her age, was taken into custody by Buffalo police homicide detectives just after 6:30 p.m. and charged with two counts of seconddegree murder and first-degree arson in the death of Vincent Fairfax, 43.

Firefighters arriving at 125 Sprenger shortly after 4:15 a.m. discovered the two-story home engulfed in flames. Neighbors said four people, including two children, were calling for help from the second-floor porch as flames shot out the windows of the house. They were rescued by firefighters.

Fairfax was pronounced dead at the scene.

“There was a trail of some kind of flammable liquid [the suspect] used on the first floor,” Deputy Fire Commissioner Patrick T. Lewis said.

Lewis said the liquid was apparently poured in the kitchen, outside a bedroom and dining room area. Investigators from the Buffalo Fire Marshal’s office and Buffalo Police Homicide Unit questioned children and other members of the family.

Sources close to the investigation said the suspect also doused an 11- year-old boy asleep in the house with the liquid, waking him up. She told him he’d better get out or he’d “burn with the rest of them,” said the source, who added that the suspect also led a girl with cerebral palsy out of the house before setting it on fire.

Investigators said the girl admitted to setting the fire. However, they refused to release any details about the girl’s motive.

Click the link above to read the rest of the story!

Man Charged With Using Bible To Start Motel Fire

6/14/2007 - Niota Man

Charged With Using Bible To Start Motel Fire - Breaking News - Chattanoogan.com
Chattanooga fire investigators made an arrest Thursday in connection with a small fire at a local motel last month.

The fire occurred at the Best Western Heritage Inn at 7641 Lee Highway on May 27. Only one room was involved and the fire apparently burned itself out when Chattanooga firefighters arrived on the scene. No one was injured, and the fire caused approximately $5,000 in damages.

Captain James Whitmire with the Fire Investigation Division was called to the scene, and the physical evidence suggested that the fire had been deliberately set.

Following a three-week investigation, Captain Whitmire arrested Richard McCoy, 37, of Niota, Tn., and charged him with aggravated arson and vandalism.

Captain Whitmire said McCoy used pages from a Bible to help set several fires in the room, and he also disconnected the smoke alarm to delay the fire's detection.

McCoy was charged with aggravated arson because he endangered the lives of all the other people staying in the motel at that time, he said. Some additional charges may be filed.

Children in Ninth Avenue fire face a painful road to recovery

Oshkosh Northwestern - Children in Ninth Avenue fire face a painful road to recovery
Dad attempted suicide by fire. He died. The children lived.

From the moment her mom walks in the room and begins taking the bloody bandages off, Ariel Stussy screams. She hits, kicks and flails her arms, trying to make her make her mom stop.

“Stop! You’re hurting me,” she screams.

While Tena Riste is inflicting pain on her 6-year-old daughter, it’s a necessary pain.
Ariel Stussy is undergoing burn care, a treatment aimed at helping heal the wounds she suffered last summer in a Ninth Avenue fire that badly burned the girl and her brothers, Zachary and Randy Jr.

Their father, Randy Stussy, died in the fire. His death was ruled a suicide. Authorities believe he intentionally started the blaze.

Three times a week, Riste administers burn care on her daughter. During the treatment, bandages are removed and Riste has to scrub the dead skin off her daughter’s legs before applying ointment and changing bandages.

It’s a painful process. And although Ariel has the option of taking pain medication before the treatment, Riste said it doesn’t help numb the pain her daughter feels.

“When I first had to do this, it was extremely hard, because I wasn’t the disciplinarian,” Riste said. “And at first there was a lot of crying, but I knew I had to stop and do it.”

The July 5 fire left the three Stussy children with burns covering their bodies. Zachary, 9, was the most badly injured, with burns covering 75 percent of his body. Burns covered 40 percent of Ariel’s body and Randy Jr., 11, had wounds covering 20 percent of his body.

Safety violations contribute to firefighter death

Display Story

BALTIMORE (AP) - Mistakes and safety violations played a role in the death of a Baltimore firefighter in the line of duty last fall.
That's according to a preliminary investigative report obtained by The (Baltimore) Sun.

Allan Roberts was killed last October while fighting a fire at a rowhome in east Baltimore. The report says firefighters were spraying water on the flames in the back of the home when Roberts and others went in through the front.

The fire turned the water into steam, increasing the heat inside the building. The report says it's "unacceptable and dangerous" to use hoses to try to extinguish a fire from the exterior while firefighters are attacking it inside.

It says Roberts struggled to get air flowing from his oxygen tank and pulled his mask off. He collapsed unconscious and later died.

Man ignited gasoline in elevator to kill self, ex-girlfriend

WHDH-TV - New England News - Man ignited gasoline in elevator to kill self, ex-girlfriend
Breaking up is hard to do. Just ask Raymond Echavarria. He was so distraught when his girlfriend broke up w/him...he went to the place she worked at...and waited for her to come back from lunch...with her 5 year old. Then he pulled her into an elevator where he dumped a can of gasoline and ignited the vapors. The elevator exploded..with both of them in it...while the 5 year old watched.

Man sets fire to cousin's home, kills 5 kids, injures three people & a firefighter

Quincy Herald Whig
Another tragedy. Five kids dead, three people injured, one firefighter also treated for burns to the face. The children ranged in age from 8 months to 10 years. They were home alone--and asleep-- when the fire was set early Sunday morning.

Investigators focus on wood preservative in Cash fire

Investigators focus on wood preservative in Cash fire | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials say the flames spread quickly because construction workers had recently applied a flammable wood preservative.

Woman afraid of losing job confesses to fatal fire, officials say

590 KLBJ NEWS RADIO - Breaking News Headlines and Video from 590 KLBJ

Turns out she is the one that started the fire in the six story Houston office building on March 28. She was afraid her boss would find out that she hadn't finished her work and fire her. This fire killed three people and injured six, including three firefighters.

Links to the previous report is here.

Tenn. leads nation in report of incidents to fire database

Tenn. leads nation in report of incidents to fire database

Officials want to add fire marshal position

The Facts
Brazoria County Texas has a need for fire investigations, and fire inspections. They are ready for their own Fire Marshal.

Wildfire Suspect To Be Arraigned On 19 New Charges

cbs2.com - Wildfire Suspect To Be Arraigned On 19 New Charges

Including the deaths of 5 firefighters in the Esperanza fires!

Investigators: Sacramento Train Trestle Fire 'Suspicious'

Investigators: Sacramento Train Trestle Fire 'Suspicious' - News

A 300-foot stretch of an elevated railroad trestle caught fire and partially collapsed Thursday evening, sending a dramatic wall of thick, black smoke thousands of feet into the air and disrupting rail traffic through the state capital. There are photos and videos of the fire on this site.

Arsonist filmed his own fire

Inside the mind of an arsonist! Job security?

House Fire in Bronx New York Kills 10

We have been discussing the leading causes of fires and fire fatalaties in the US in 104; and the role of building design during a fire and the fire investigation after it has been extinguished. The following articles and links offer a terrible example. Immigrants. A faulty space heater. Smoke detectors without batteries. Delayed discovery and alarm. 10 dead.

The Scene
Screams. Flames. Breaking Glass. Tumbling Bodies. And Then, Nothing but Emptiness.
By ALAN FEUER
Published: March 9, 2007
Witnesses saw the Bronx fire and its aftermath in pieces.

New York Region
Working Backward and Seeking Reasons in the Ashes
By CARA BUCKLEY
Published: March 10, 2007
For fire marshals, the road map to the source of a fire in the Bronx was painfully clear.

Video and further discussion at
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5109644
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5105741