Forensic Fire Investigation--Understanding the Crime of Arson

In April, 2005, local authorities arrested Thomas A. Sweatt, manager of a fast-food restaurant, on charges of setting fires to more than 46 houses and apartments in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area. Later that same year, Ryan Neely-Otts, a maintenance employee, was arrested on charges of torching two apartment complex leasing offices that he worked for in Austin, Texas. What could drive these people to commit such a heinous crime? What is about the fire that motivated them to do such an act?

For millennia, humans have had a universal attraction to fire. Fire is a form of energy that provides heat and light. Many of us find fire captivating whether it is used as part of a fireplace or as a cooking tool to grill that juicy hamburger over an open flame. Perhaps it is fire's ethereal quality that attracts us to it much like moths to a flame. In cases of arson, it may be fire's raw power of destruction that feeds our attraction.

In this article, we will elaborate on the reasons why perpetrators commit such a heinous act of destruction.

The reasons why people knowingly set fires are many and varied. The most common reasons that crooks set fires are as follows:

Covering their tracks

Arsonists many times use fires to cover up another crime, such as theft or even murder. An embezzler may use fire to burn up company financial records; an employee who stole merchandise from a company warehouse may hope that the fire will hide this indiscretion. After all, nobody will know anything is missing if company records and inventory go up in smoke, right? Because of this possible motive, criminal investigators always look for evidence of a break-in and theft at the crime scene. This is what happened in case against Ryan Neely-Otts in the Austin arson case. Mr. Otts ripped off rent checks from the apartment complexes he used to work for and deposited them in his own personal bank account shortly after setting fires to both apartment leasing offices. Theft was his motive.

Insurance fraud

Perhaps the arsonist needs fast money. Maybe the insurance on the house or warehouse is greater than the market value of that property. Arsonists sometimes try to file an insurance claim on valuables they actually removed from the building prior to torching the place with the hope that they could receive an insurance settlement for the goods without actually having to lose them. The motive in this case is greed.

Psychological reasons

A person who has a pathological interest in fire may start a forest fire simply because he finds it fascinating. The resulting destruction and the beauty and power of the flames themselves quench some deep down psychological need. This kind of fire-starting many times becomes a habitual offense.

Revenge

A grudge or deep down hatred for another individual may be enough to coerce an angry arsonist to torch that person's home or place of work.

Suicide or murder

Fire on occasion is used as a means of carrying out suicide or murder, because it simply is too painful for suicide and too unpredictable for murder. Dead bodies found in arson cases usually were killed before the fire was set.

Terrorism

Somebody, or some group, may burn buildings, cars, houses, or flags to induce panic or make a political statement.

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