Hunt for a Serial Arsonist

Arson is a serious crime in the U.S. Over five thousand people die a year in fires. Wounds inflicted on the victims often leave physical or mental scars that never go away. It is estimated that one out of five fires are set by arsonists. But not much is known about arsonists. Some major questions that run through fire investigators minds are what motive drove the arsonist to commit the nature of his/her crime and what befit they would get out of committing such and atrocious and definitely destructive crime.

One case that stands out among the rest would be a string of mysterious fires set in Southern California. These fires took place in Los Angeles. One fire out of all these brought to attention a possible cause for alarm since the origin of the fire was not natural. Supposedly two other fires took place in the vicinity of the same fir. All three of which would have an odd origin. For instance in the fabric store DNM the fire seemed to have sprang out of nowhere and could not be put out with fire extinguisher. This was thought to have been started by an arsonist due to the odd origin but not incendiary device could be found. An incendiary device is a device or chemical that can be used to start a fire allowing the arsonist to safely get away. But inside a floral shop a couple of blocks away a fire was also started. In this fire there would be found a cigarette wrapped with matches and a rubber band inside a yellow piece of paper.

The ATF was called to assist in the case since they commanded one of the largest fire investigation groups. A firearms expert by the name of April Carol was also called into the case. Through investigation the group found that a string of possible arson cases were found throughout California. Some of these fires were first based in Fresno, then later progressed downward to Los Angeles. The interesting part about the fires was that the locations were close to freeways to provide an easy getaway also the locations were close together. The days that these fire also took place were also in the time span around fire conventions relating to new techniques and technology that could be applied to fire investigation. This then led to an investigation on a possibility of another fellow fire investigator, John Orr.

John Orr was considered one of the best investigators, highly respected in his field among his peers. He began his days in the Air Force fire suppression unit. Later on he would go apply for a job as a firefighter but would constantly violate rules being the rebel in the unit. After his days as a firefighter he moved on to become an investigator and that is where he truly gained fame. No matter how late he would appear at fire scenes he seemed to be able to think like the arsonist and uncover clues no one else could uncover. Thus with an impressive record like this it was tough to place him as a suspect. Nonetheless he was tracked and was found taking part in suspicious actions. It would later be uncovered that prints found on the paper recovered at one fire scene would link Mr. Orr to the crime.

Arsonist often commits these crimes to destroy or vandalize property, achieve revenge or personal gain, or convey a radical thought. Some even do it just fro the thrill of being caught or to get attention from others. For John Orr he fell under lack of attention and the thrill. Apart from home movies made by him recovered at his house, he was also in the process of writing a book on an arsonist ( himself.) This would provide valuable insight into his inner motives in why he committed these crimes. In his book he would talk about “fictional” accounts of fires and the feeling and exhilaration of lighting something aflame. These accounts would prove to be eerily close to those that an arsonist could have applied to the fires in Los Angeles and Fresno.