Arsonists are fascinating criminals!!

I did a lot of research about arsonists for my book, Flashover.  I learned that they have a very different psychological personality makeup from other criminals.  Statistically, they look like other criminals: low education, low skills, low income, male usually, chemical abuse issues, etc.  But in other areas, they look much different.

For one thing, many arsonists are sociopaths.  The simple way to psychologically define a sociopath is to say that they lack a conscience.  As a result, they aren’t able to emotionally relate to other people.  They don’t follow moral or ethical rules because “the rules don’t apply to them.”  They can certainly understand the rules intellectually, but they don’t care.  At the same time, they can fake having a conscience—which makes them dangerous since the rest of us tend to believe them.

To be a successful arsonist, may require some technical skills.  Of course, it’s easy to set a fire in a garage and run, but many arsonists pride themselves on their skills compared to other violent criminals.  For instance, bombs are often used to ignite a fire and that takes a technical understanding beyond the ability of most criminals.

Many arsonists are gutsy and relish the challenge of committing a crime and getting away with it.  For instance, a common way to start a fire is to tape some wooden matches half-way down the side of the cigarette.  The arsonist lights the cigarette, goes into a store, tosses the smoldering cigarette into a pile of highly combustible material, (pillows, potato chips, plastic products), and leaves the scene.  When the cigarette burns down, it ignites the matches which create a flame.  Meanwhile, the arsonist gets a five to ten minute head start to get away.

Usually, arsonists watch the fires they’ve built.  They take pride at their “creations” and get a psychological high by watching and listening to the other spectators comment on the fire.  As a result, many become addicted to this high and set larger fires and even expose themselves to greater risk of capture.  Combine this with a sociopathic personality and you’ve got a dangerous criminal.

Do the police solve these cases?

Rarely.  Unlike the usual crime scene, a fire destroys all the evidence.  There would be very little for a CSI team to analyze.  Maybe that’s why arson is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country.

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Last post, I looked at the recently arrested arsonist, Harry Burkhart, who is alleged to have started more than 50 fires in California.  I also pointed out that fire investigators try to solve two mysteries at the scene of a fire:

1.  Where did the fire start?

2.  How did the fire start?

The answer to these questions can lead to the conclusion the fire wasn’t accidental but was the work of an arsonist.  Who are arsonists?

Research has created some statistical answers:

1.  The majority of arsonists are between 17-26 and are almost always male.

2.  Usually, the arsonists are average to above-average intelligence but poor academic performers, lower income, and unsuccessful people in most commonly accepted ways.

3.  They have poor relationships with family and friends

Investigators also look at the possible motives of the arsonist.  These can include:

1.  Revenge

2.  Fun

3.  Financial–start the fire to get the insurance money

4.  Failing business

5.  A sociopath who started the fire for psychological reasons of power, control, and success.

Investigators use a variety of investigative techniques.  Witnesses, if any, can provide answers to the source of the fire, how and when it started, and possible suspects observed at the scene of the fire.  The firefighters are often the best witnesses because the know what to look for and are usually unemotional about their observations.

Investigators do a forensic analysis of evidence obtained at the scene.  Often, they may find evidence of igniters, like gasoline, in the charred remains which can indicate arson.  They have hydrocarbon meters that can detect the presence of gas or other flammables even if it has soaked into carpeting or wood.  They will also analyze the financial records of businesses or individuals to see if there might be a motive to collect insurance money.

As a result of these clues, investigators can often establish a rough profile of the arsonist suspect and focus their investigation on that person.  If a suspect is caught, investigators have specialized interrogation techniques that are different from usual police questioning and work more successfully with arsonists.

One of the scariest arsonists is the sociopath.  These are people who, psychologically, have no conscience.  They don’t have any remorse (actually, most arsonists don’t have remorse) and don’t have an ability to connect emotionally with other people.  Fire becomes an instrument for power and a weapon of choice.  Studies have grouped these offenders into the following motivations:

1.  Jealousy motivated–  Uses fire to get back at some insult to his vanity.

2.  Pseudo hero– Uses fire to rush in and make a rescue, save a life, etc.

3.  Fire buff–  Like a police groupie, only with firefighters.

4.  Excitement oriented–  Uses fire out of boredom

5.  Pyromaniac–  Uses fire repeatedly as a kind of neurotic obsessive-compulsive behavior.

For fire investigators, the sociopath is the scariest because they lack any conscience and even if caught, will often not confess because they don’t feel any remorse and sorrow for lost lives or property.  Luckily, there aren’t many of these kind of fire starters around!

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Star Tribune:  http://www.startribune.com/nation/136632808.html  

Why do people start fires?

In the research for a new book that I’m working on, I’ve studied the odd crime of arson.  Unlike most other crimes, arson is one of the easiest to commit and one of the toughest for law enforcement to solve.  Why?

1.  A rolled up newspaper, some flammable material, and a match are about all the perpetrator needs.  To help the ignition, you can always add some gas or kerosene.

2.  Most often, fires are started at night in vacant buildings.  Even with security cameras, it’s tough to catch someone or identify them.  Interestingly, in the fires in L.A. Harry Burkhart was identified by a security camera when his distinctive pony tail, body shape, and manner of walking were spotted.

3.  The best advantage for the arsonist is that most or all of the evidence of the crime burns up in the fire, preventing investigators from obtaining clues about the source of the fire or who may have started it.

So what can a fire investigator do?  Today, most large city fire departments team up with the police to investigate fires.  They have these goals:

1.  They try to determine where the fire started.  They do this by carefully interviewing any witnesses to see if they can remember where they first saw the fire.  Investigators also look at burn patterns in the structure.  The source of the fire often, but not always, burns more severely.  Fire rises and seeks the path of least resistance as it grows.  This can leave V-patterns that radiate out from the source.  By tracing to where the “V points,” investigators can determine the source of the fire and where it started.

2.  Next, investigators try to figure out how the fire started.  Hopefully, the “igniter” that initially started the fire hasn’t completely burned up.  It could be accidental: an electric short, flammable material like cooking oil spilling on a hot grill, lightening, someone tossing a lit cigarette, without thinking, into flammable material, etc.  Contrary to accidents, there are arsonists who intentionally set up situatinos to start fires.  One of the simplest igniters is a burning cigarette with matches rubber-bindered around it.  The arsonist can drop the smoldering cigarette into flammable material and when the cigarette burns down far enough, the matches flare-up, creating a big flame to ignite the flammable material surrounding the cigarette.  This also has the advantage of giving the arsonist time to get away from the crime scene before the fire breaks out.

If the investigators can figure out how the fire started, it leads them to decide if it was an accident or a case of arson.

In the next post, I’ll explore what fire investigators do to catch arsonists.  Also, let’s look at what kind of person is a serial arsonist?

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