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Darwin Nominee Survives First Attempt

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Leaves Four Dead Cars and One Damaged House Behind

A LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, MAN WAS still on the loose Monday two days after his pathetic attempt to firebomb his (girlfriend's?) car left him without wheels of his own and being treated for burns in the hospital.

Police say that the unidentified man apparently decided to settle a domestic dispute by setting his friend's car on fire Saturday.  Neighbors reported that he drove up alongside the target vehicle, a PT Cruiser where he lit a flaming device inside his car and threw it into the Cruiser.

WDRB-TV

While he did successfully set the old Plymouth on fire, he also set the passenger seat of his own car and his clothing on fire as well.  Finding himself wearing a suit of flames, he panicked and tried to flee jamming his foot down on nis accelerator.

WDRB-TV

His flight only lasted a few feet as he plowed into a parked pickup truck driving it into the car parked in front of it.  The second car was then run into the side of a house where it not only damaged the wall, but set the house on fire as well.

WDRB-TV

Soon plenty of help arrived to put out the two car fires and douse down the house while an ambulance took to victim to the hospital to be treated for his burns.  We don't know what the police were doing at the time, but they weren't watching the perp very well because after he was treated he bolted from the hospital and as of Monday evening was still on the lamb.

WDRB-TV filed this video report that includes interviews with several eyewitnesses to the debacle:

 WDRB 41 Louisville – News, Weather, Sports Community

Read the full STORY HERE.

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Posted by on June 11, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, Videos

Deadly Commuter Bus Fire Deemed Arson – Suspect Identified

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Fire Part of Suicide Action

THE DEADLY BUS FIRE IN XIAMEN, China, Friday evening was caused by a suicide-arsonist, police announced today.  (See the Firegeezer report on the fire HERE.)

Xinhua

Detailed investigation of the burned-out bus led police to believe that one of the passengers had set the fire.  The presence of gasoline traces on the bus which is powered by diesel led them to suspect the perp.  The Associated Press is reporting:

Police identified the suspect as Chen Shuizong after an on-site investigation, interviews and examination of evidence, including DNA, a government notice said. It said Chen was a local resident born in 1954 and that police found a suicide note in his home.

He was unhappy with life and set the fire to vent his anger, the city said. Xiamen's municipal government issued the notice Saturday through state media and a Xiamen police microblog.

In a microblogging account reported to be Chen's, the writer claimed to be destitute and pleaded for an opportunity to live. The last entries were made on Thursday, the day before the fire, when the writer chronicled his frustrated efforts to get a local police station to correct his age so he could be eligible for social security payments.

The arson killed at least 47 passengers and injured another 34.  The rush-hour bus had between 80 and 100 people on board when it caught fire.

AP

ITN posted this video report before this morning's police announcement identifying the arsonist:

 

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Posted by on June 8, 2013 • Filed under: arson, crime, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: ,

Dollar Store Update

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A Review of Recent Incidents Involving Dollar Stores

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THE CATOOSA, OKLAHOMA, DOLLAR GENERAL Store was gutted along with the pizza shop next door earlier this month.  The businesses were located in a strip mall, but firewalls contained the bulk of the fire to the Dollar General and the Goo Ruu Pizza shop.

KWTV provided this raw video of the fire at Dollar General:

 News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |

 

The Tulsa Fire Department also responded on mutual aid to Catoosa.

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AN ARSONIST SET A DETROIT grocery store alight on May 30 and the fierce fire spread into the Family Dollar Store next door.  WWJ-TV reports:

The smell of smoke thickened the air around Telegraph and Seven Mile near the Glory Supermarket and Family Dollar that caught on fire Thursday morning.

WWJ-TV

"For our understanding, from the fire department people, they said that someone put some fire in a basket and pushed it towards the store and then lit the whole store," says store manager Marvick Kashat.

Kashat says everybody got out okay including the two stock employees that were inside. No firefighters were injured. He says about thirty employees are going to be without a job until the store is rebuilt.

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FROM NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA, WFMJ-TV reported earlier this month:

Authorities were forced to wrestle a suspect to the ground Tuesday afternoon. Around 4 p.m. a man was spotted setting a fire outside a Dollar General store in New Castle.

The flames began to spread close to the store. Firefighters were called and quickly extinguished the fire.

Police with help of firefighters took the man who appeared to be intoxicated into custody.

No one was injured.

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A SUSPICIOUS FIRE GUTTED the Cortez, Colorado, Family Dollar Store on May 14.  The fire started shortly after 7:30 pm while the store was open for business.

The Cortez Journal continues:

"It gutted the place. Everything is charred and melted from one end to the other, said Cortez Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Vandevoorde. "There's nothing salvageable."

Cortez Journal

Vandevoorde said dispatch received the call at 7:39 p.m., and crews were on the scene within four minutes. About 30 personnel responded, including from Cortez, Lewis, Mancos, Dolores and Towaoc. Family Dollar is part of the Cortez Plaza shopping center on East Main Street, behind First National Bank. The two adjacent stores, Bealls and an Osprey Packs warehouse, saw minor smoke damage. Bealls will be closed Wednesday.

The plastic and paper merchandise stocked by Family Dollar, as well as chemicals in household cleaning supplies, made for a "heavy fire load" that allowed flames to spread quickly, Vandevoorde said.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Cortez Police Department in the investigation.  They are still analyzing the evidence taken at the scene.  Read more on the latest update HERE.

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TWO PEOPLE WERE INJURED from a fire in a Baltimore Family Dollar Store on May 22.  

WMAR-TV

WMAR-TV reported:

The emergency call was received at 11:38 a.m.

Officials say the two people injured were sent to Shock Trauma after suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. The victims are both adults.

The cause of the fire has been ruled an arson. The fire is still currently under investigation.

Ch. 2 also posted this video report:

 

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The Dollar Store Update is an occasional feature on Firegeezer.  To review previous postings on this topic CLICK HERE.

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Posted by on May 31, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Dollar stores, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, Videos

Nurse / Arsonist Admits Murdering 11 Nursing Home Patients

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Pleaded Guilty in Court Monday

ROGER DEAN, A SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, registered nurse was arrested just hours after a major nursing home fire in Sydney 18 months ago, in November 2011.

Two fires had been set inside the single-story Quaker Hills Nursing Home, one of them to bedsheets in an unoccupied room and the other in an occupied room.

Channel Ten

Dean had just been questioned by New South Wales police the day before at his home in connection with a complaint of stolen drugs from the nursing home.  He had been at Quaker Hills for just two months. 

Channel Ten ran this informative video report on the day of the fire:

 

While investigating on the day of the fire, police questioned Dean again and then arrested him on murder charges.

On the day of the fire Dean (above) had been giving interviews
to the press on how he had helped evacuate the helpless patients.
(AFP)

For more background on the fire and Dean's arrest, read the Firegeezer reports from November 2011 HERE and HERE.

At yesterday's court appearance, spectators and relatives of the victims were expecting the opening of a lengthy trial but instead saw and heard Dean plead guilty to 11 counts of murder and 8 counts of causing grievous bodily harm.

The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing to be held this Thursday.

The Australian reported on Monday's trial HERE.

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Posted by on May 27, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice, News, Uncategorized, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Fire Chief Nailed With Arson Charges

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Caught By Hidden Camera

A VOLUNTEER FIRE CHIEF ALONG WITH another volunteer firefighter were arrested Friday in connection with two suspicious fires in Oneida County, New York.  The arrests followed within hours after an arson in the town of Vienna.

The Syracuse Post-Standard reported:

On Friday, firefighters and state police responded to a report of a suspicious fire at a seasonal residence at 8177 Yager Road, in the town of Vienna. The fire was put out by members of the McConnellsville Fire Department but the house was heavily damaged by the fire, troopers said.

Post-Standard

An investigation into the incident revealed that someone was involved in starting the fire, troopers said. As a result of an investigation one man was arrested.

McConnellsville Fire Chief Howard Roache, 35, was charged with felony arson. He's accused of starting the fire, troopers said.

Also arrested that same day was another McConnellsville firefighter James Goold, 54, who has been charged with setting another building alight on February 2.  According to the police, Goold admitted setting the earlier fire while he was being questioned about Friday's arson.

The owner of the property in Vienna had been having some problems with vandals at his weekend retreat and had set up a hidden surveillance camera.  After Friday's fire the police viewed the tape and saw a man later identified as Roache on the property approx. 30 minutes before the fire was reported.

A recent series of suspicious fires in the area are now being re-examined with a focus on the pair's activities.

The Utica Observer-Dispatch has MORE.

They have both been charged with felony arson and were awaiting arraignment Friday evening.

WKTV Ch. 2 Utica provided this video report:

 

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Posted by on May 12, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , , , ,

Arrest Made In 5-Yr.-Old Arson

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Insurance Fraud Charged

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, FIRE MARSHAL'S office has arrested a couple and charged them with setting their house on fire in June, 2008.

In a press release issued Monday, the Fire & Rescue Department announced:

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department fire investigators charged German Balladares, 56, and Sandra Balladares, 41, of Springfield, Virginia, Friday, April 19, 2013, with intentionally setting a house fire that occurred in the Springfield area in 2008. Both have been charged with Virginia Code 18.2-77, burning or destroying a house or dwelling; and 18.2-80, with intent to defraud an insurance company or other person.

The fire occurred at approximately 12:20 p.m., June 7, 2008, at 7209 Neuman Street. Damage to the single family home was estimated at $75,000.

One firefighter was transported to INOVA Fairfax Hospital with a non-life threatening injury.

The fire marshal did not say what evidence had been obtained that led to the delayed charges.

This Google satellite view of the property shows a completely cleared lot now:

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Posted by on April 23, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, investigations, Law & Justice • Tagged: , ,

Rebuffed Panhandler Sets Man on Fire

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Wouldn't Part With Cash

A LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, VAGRANT is in jail facing attempted murder charges for setting a man on fire Friday afternoon who refused to give him a handout.  KABC-TV reported:

The victim was entering a 7-Eleven store on the 5100 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach at about 5:15 p.m. when he was approached by a transient asking for money. The victim said no.

As the 63-year-old victim came out of the store and entered his vehicle, the 37-year-old transient reportedly doused the victim and the inside of his vehicle with a flammable substance and lit it on fire.

ABC News

KCBS-TV adds:

Police said the victim was in his Toyota 4-Runner with the windows open when a man walked up and threw flammable liquid inside the vehicle.

Witness Robert Linkroum was in the store when he saw the entire situation unfold.  "A man had something in his hand, quickly throws whatever he has in his hand into the open window and the SUV’s interior immediately burst into flames," he said.

A Good Samaritan helped the driver to safety. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition with burns over most of his body.

The 39-year-old suspect was arrested a block away and is in the process of being booked on attempted murder charges. Neighbors said he’s a known transient who frequently hangs out in front of the 7-Eleven.

KCAL-TV filed this  video report from the scene:

 

The Beachcomber online newspaper is reporting:

The 63-year-old victim … suffered third degree burns to his chest and face with his orange T-shirt burned off his body; he was taken to a local hospital by paramedics.

KCBS-TV late Saturday identified the victim as Jerry Arnold Payne, whose fiance happened upon the crime scene afterward and recognized his car. Payne is believed to live a few blocks away on Anaheim Place, often frequented the store and was known to help out the homeless when asked.

Payne is currently being treated at Torrance Memorial Hospital, which specializes in treating burn patients. His condition is described as critical.

Witness Robert Linkroum of Long Beach said that he went into the store to purchase a newspaper and saw the suspect toss something into the car window and it immediately burst into flames, trapping Linkroum and other patrons inside the 7-Eleven as flames engulfed the store’s front entrance. The clerk eventually found a key that allowed them to escape out a back door.

Local attorney Ed Beaulac also witnessed the incident and took a video of the victim lying on the ground after being pulled from the vehicle by good samaritans. Beaulac quickly took his child home, circled back and found the suspect in nearby Park Estates. He monitored the suspect until police took him into custody.

ABC News

Read the entire article HERE.

The suspect, later identified as Raymond Clark, is being held on $502,000 bond.

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Posted by on April 14, 2013 • Filed under: arson, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, Uncategorized, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Empty Gas Cans Raise Suspicions at Strip Mall Fire

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Found In Parking Lot Next To Burning Shop

A FIRE IN A PHOENIX, ARIZONA, SUBURBAN strip mall early Wednesday morning was soon classed as "suspicious" after three empty gasoline cans were found in the parking lot in front of the shopping center.

Traffic cones surround one of the gas cans left behind.
(KTVK image)

The Peoria Fire Department found a beautician's school fully involved just before midnight and the fire spreading through the common attic area of the typically-constructed shopping center.

Fire departments from six communities were dispatched to the fire that destroyed four businesses and damaged about a half-dozen more.  The fire was knocked down in 45 minutes and appears to have been well contained by the firefighters.

The roof collapsed over the seat of the fire
early into the operation.  (KPHO-TV)

An arson dog was brought in from Gilbert to assist in the investigation and it wasn't long before the fire investigators determined that the gas cans were primary evidence of the arson.

KPHO-TV filed this report on the arson connection:

 CBS 5 – KPHO

KTVK has more details and video HERE.

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Posted by on April 11, 2013 • Filed under: arson, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

8-Year-Old Torches Six Buildings

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Caught Earlier In The Day Doing Same Thing

A HAMILTON, OHIO, BOY CONFESSED TO setting a garage on fire that spread to at least five other structures including two houses in his neighborhood Sunday evening.

The child started off on his 1-boy arson spree around 6:30 pm, but all of the blazes were handled promptly by the fire department.  The lad was easily ID'd by neighbors who have recently been observing frequent mischief by him.  WKRC-TV relates:

A neighbor said she put out a fire set by the same boy in an alley down the street earlier in the day. "I went and told his grandpa," said Jamie Young of Hamilton. "Not 15 minutes later, this happened."

"We've had trouble with this kid for quite some time. He usually is not this bad, but it's escalating. You can clearly see it's escalating out of control," said Young.

WKRC-TV prepared this video report:

 

Nobody was injured by the fires, but about 100 area residents were without power for several hours.

WCPO-TV provided this raw video of one of the fires and the following video report:

 

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Posted by on April 8, 2013 • Filed under: arson, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

Arrests Made in Virginia Eastern Shore Arsons

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Major Breakthrough Monday Night
3:30 Press Conference Tuesday

A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN THE four-month arson spree in Accomack County, Virginia, was made Monday night when a police surveillance team camera recorded a woman letting a man out of her car in front of a vacant building.  She drove off and then returned in a few minutes and picked him back up just as a fire was starting inside the building.

Moments after they left the scene they were pulled over in a traffic stop and arrested.

This morning they were identified as Charles R. Smith III, 38, who goes by the alias Charlie Applegate, a (former) volunteer firefighter and reportedly a captain in his department, along with his fiancee Tonya Bundick, 40.

Tonya Bundick

See the earlier Firegeezer postings on the arson spree HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Updates:  The following are being added as information is being made public at the Virginia State Police press briefing that began shortly after 3:30pm and being relayed by WTKR-TV:

* WTKR-TV reports Tonya Bundick actually 'was involved in more fires than just this one.

*  State police have received more than 1,200 tips related to these crimes. "We are confident that Bundick and Smith are responsible for the majority of the fires." –State Police.

*  Bundick and Smith have been charged with one count each of arson and one count of conspiracy to commit arson. State Police expect to file charges in the other arson cases soon.

*  Of the 79 arsons, there are a handful of fires that have been set for other motives that are not connected to Smith and Bundick.

*  Arrest warrants show that Charlie Smith/Applegate has admitted to a majority of the arsons since November and that Bundick helped him.

*  Smith was not a member of any fire department in the county while the arsons were set.

*  "This is the beginning of the end. We're shifting now to analysis of evidence" -VSP

Charlie Smith (Applegate) & Tonya Bundick
in happier times.  Facebook photo.

In an updated report, WTKR-TV is also reporting:

Smith’s aunt tells NewsChannel 3 the two live together (in Parksley) with Bundick’s two children from a previous relationship and planned to get married in May.

She says Applegate owns Charlie’s Auto Body off Daugherty Road in Tasley and is a former fire captain with the Tasley fire department. State police say Smith was not a member of any fire department during the times the fires were set.

Several of the fires were set on the same street as the couple’s home.

Bundick's home in Parksley where the couple live
with her two children.  (WAVY-TV photo)

Bundick and Smith are both being held in the Accomack County jail with no bond.

WVBT-TV has filed a video of this afternoon's press briefing:

 

VSP news conference on arson arrests

WTKR-TV has filed a recent video report with some background on the story:

 

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Posted by on April 2, 2013 • Filed under: arson, investigations, Law & Justice • Tagged:

Eastern Shore Arson Update

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Frequency Drops a Little

THE STRING OF ARSONS in Virginia's Accomack County on the Delmarva peninsula have become a little less frequent, but still persist.  The number of arsons in the past four months has reached 74, all of them in abandoned structures.  (See earlier Firegeezer reports HERE and HERE.

This past Thursday two more fires were set, but police believe only one of them was the product of the serial arsonist.  The other fire was set in a mulch bed near a porch of an occupied house and does not fit the m. o. of the culprit.

Virginian-Pilot

The serious fire was reported just before midnight in an abandoned cabin that was already uninhabitable.  The Virginian-Pilot has that STORY.

The Virgninian-Pilot has also published an interactive map showing the locations of all 74 fires where you can isolate them by month and/or day-of-the-week that they were set.  If you click on the individual fire marker it will take you to the newspaper article about that incident.  CLICK HERE of view and work with the interactive map.

It has recently been reported that the Accomack volunteers have spent 3,700 man-hours working the arsons alone.

A reward of $25,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the ongoing arson cases. Anyone with information can call or text 757-655-1437.

WTKR-TV has posted an 83-image photo gallery covering the time period of the arsons HERE.

EasternShoreFire.com

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Posted by on March 31, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fires • Tagged: ,

Eastern Shore Arson Count Continues to Climb

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Total Hits 71 Monday Night

THE PERSISTENT ARSONIST in Virginia's Accomack County on the Delmarva peninsula hasn't let up a bit since his – or their – spree began in November.  (see Firegeezer report HERE.)  Two fires Sunday night along with one more last night has raised the total to 71 suspcious fires.

Monday night's fire was typical of the string of arsons.
(EasternShoreFire.com)

Monday night around 10 pm a vacant house in Parksley was reported burning and the FD arrived to find the usual fully involved wood-frame building.  Police haven't officially confirmed arson, but it is strongly indicated.

Early Sunday morning a set fire in a trailer spread to a nearby dwelling and racked up numbers 69 and 70.  WVEC-TV reports:

Shortly after 1 a.m. arson investigators from the Virginia State Police were dispatched to a report of a structure fire in the 24300 block of John Cane Road in the Parksley area of the county, according to a Virginia State Police news release.

Investigators subsequently determined that an unoccupied single wide trailer had been set on fire, and the fire then spread to an adjacent two-story house, also unoccupied, about 50 yards away. There were no injuries reported.

WBOC-TV

WBOC-TV has more plus a brief video HERE.

See Firegeezer report from March 15 HERE.

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Posted by on March 19, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires • Tagged: , ,

Submarine Arsonist Sentenced

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17+ Years in Plea Bargain

THE CIVILIAN PAINTER WHO WAS charged and convicted for setting a costly fire on a dry-docked submarine last year was sentenced this morning (Friday) to 17 years and 1 month in prison plus $400 million in retribution.  The judged waived including interest in the fee and said that the arsonist could make monthly payments after he gets out of prison.

Casey Fury

Casey Fury, now 25, arrested for setting a fire inside the USS Miami submarine that was in drydock for an overhaul at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, last May.

The fire that was inside the living quarters of the boat caused over $400 million in damages and caused the Navy to consider whether to scrap the sub or repair it.  They later opted to repair it.

Fury was caught through a stroke of luck two months later in July when he was being questioned about another arson in the shipyard on June 16 that he later confessed to setting.  The questioning led to interrogating him about the sub fire the in May and he eventually admitted that he had set that one, too.  His motive for setting the sub fire was that he wanted to get off work early to go and confront his girlfriend who was seeing another man.

At his trial in November following a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the two arsons.

For more details, see the Firegeezer reports on the USS Miami fire HERE, and the later report on Fury's arrest on July 23 HERE.

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Posted by on March 15, 2013 • Filed under: arson, current events, Law & Justice, News • Tagged: , ,

Serial Arsonist Active on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

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65 Arsons in Recent Months

VIRGINIA STATE POLICE ARE LOOKING for whoever is responsible for a string of arsons that have been committed on the Eastern Shore, the state's portion of the Delmarva peninsula that is relatively isolated from the mainland.

In the past four months there have been about 65 suspicious fires, just about all in vacant or closed occupancies.  Thursday night the arsonist(s) struck again burning an abandoned building in Cashville near the Accomack County airport.

The News-Journal reports:

A turn-of-the-century wooden schoolhouse in Cashville on Virginia's Eastern Shore was destroyed in a suspected arson late Thursday night.

The building, located across the street from a brick school building dating to 1923 and Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church, was later turned into an onion grading shed and currently was used by a farmer for storage, a resident said.

Police and firefighters were called to the fire on Cashville Road shortly before 11 p.m. after a woman from out of town, who was working at the nearby house of a relative who recently passed away, saw the flames and reported the fire. The structure was destroyed.

This was the third successive night this week there has been suspicious fires.  Wednesday night a vacant restaurant building was destroyed and Tuesday night a 2-story closed motel was burned down.

Wednesday's fire took the former Hunger Haven restuarant.
(News Journal photo)

The Pilot-American reports:

The blazes have taxed the county’s volunteer firefighters and prompted state police to hold checkpoints and distribute information around the county to raise awareness and gather information.

A $25,000 reward also is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the cases.

WAVY-TV filed this video report about the burden on the VFD's in the area:

 

Arsons take toll on Shore firefighters

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Posted by on March 15, 2013 • Filed under: arson, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Bend, Oregon, Hit With Seven Arsons in Small Area

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All Within a 4-Block Area

BEND, OREGON, FIREFIGHTERS WERE STRUCK with seven fire calls within a few minutes time, all in the same small area of the city, early Wednesday morning beginning at 2 am.  A historic church, three other structures, two automobiles and a wood pile were all reported burning and a heavy mutual -aid call went out.

Bend Bulletin

It was almost immediately deemed suspicious activity, but the fire marshal has not yet officially classed them as arsons.  The Bend Bulletin reports:

A wing of Trinity Episcopal Church, 469 N.W. Wall St., and its St. Helens Hall, 231 N.W. Idaho Ave, were struck by fire around 2 a.m., according to department spokesman Larry Medina. Another five sheds and garages in the surrounding block and two automobiles were also burned, he said.

Bend Bulletin

A passerby reported the fire at Trinity Episcopal at 2:13 a.m. The roof of the west wing had been opened and blackened by fire; debris littered St. Helens Place. Across the street, St. Helens Hall, roped off by crime scene tape, was off limits to the volunteers who showed up to inspect the damage. The hall, formerly a Lutheran church, houses the Community Counseling Center and The Family Kitchen, a nonprofit that feeds as many as 200 people daily, said program director Cindy Tidball.

Medina said the Fire Department treats the scene as an open investigation. He would not characterize the fires as arson, although a fire captain described the fires as arson while closing off the scene to bystanders. Medina said agents from the department, the Oregon State Police, state fire marshal and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were taking part in the investigation.

KTVZ-TV filed this video report:

 

KTVZ has more HERE.

Hat tip:  Dave R.

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Posted by on March 7, 2013 • Filed under: arson, fire, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Arsonists Destroy Nightclub in France

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After Closing Time – No Occupants

LaVoix du Nord / Delecroix

A NIGHTCLUB WAS BURNED OUT in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France, early this morning that is already known to be an arson.  Around 4:30 am a car was used as a battering ram to break down the front door of the FabriK Club and allow the arsonists to quick entry to set the blaze.

LaVoix du Nord / Delecroix

About 70 firefighters from five communities responded to the fire and were initially hindered by metal security doors on all the entrances.  They had to be cut open with disc saws.  Four aerial master streams were used to knock down the fire by 7:20 am.

The fire caused some damage to a business next door that was unable to open today and kept 100 employees from work.  The FabriK Club has 35 employees.  This is the second nightclub in two months owned by Duquesne that has been burned.

France 3 / Quinart

The club's owner, Frank Duquesne accuses an unidentified competitor, "either Belgian or French" for setting the fire.  Police do not believe it was an extortion scheme because there were no prior phone calls demanding funds or making threats.  He estimates that it will take 18 to 24 months to rebuild.

France 3 / Quinart

LaVoix du Nord has the STORY.
France 3 tv has more plus a photo gallery HERE.

 

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Posted by on February 27, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fires • Tagged: , ,

Firefighter Arrested on Multiple Arson Charges

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Son of the Assistant Fire Chief

BRETT GRAHAM, 19, OF STOREY, IOWA, is behind bars this weekend after being caught at the scene of barn fire near Kelley, Iowa.

Graham was already a suspect of several other arsons that have been committed in Boone and Story Counties over the past year.  A task force of state and local fire marshals and investigators has been working on the string of 20 -30 arsons and had narrowed their suspect list down to include Graham who is a volunteer firefighter.  The task force concentrated on following his movements and on Thursday night a witness saw him leaving the scene of a barn fire.

KCCI-TV is reporting:

He's been charged with three counts of second-degree arson in connection with fires at the ISU Golf Performance Center, the Uthe Party Barn and another rural barn.

State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds said he also confessed to a Boone County fire that killed 12 horses on Jan. 28. Boone County officials confirmed Friday afternoon that Graham was also charged in connection with the horse barn fire.Graham is the son of Kelley's assistant fire chief, Reynolds said. However, Reynolds said, "The actions of one firefighter shouldn't reflect negatively on their community."

Reynolds said detectives have suspected Graham for some time. He said a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies on the state level, right down to the detective who left Valentine's Day dinner with his wife to question Graham, helped solve this case.

The Kelley Fire Department also cooperated with the task force in closing this case.

WHO-TV Ch. 13 posted this video report:

 

KCCI-TV has more plus additional video HERE.

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Posted by on February 17, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, Law & Justice, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Teen’s Fire Death Called Homicide in Pennsylvania

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No Cause or Motive Yet Determined

AN APARTMENT FIRE TUESDAY NIGHT in upper Chester County, Pennsylvania, was knocked down quickly by the firefighters who next discovered a body in the mess.

The county district attorney responded to the scene and determined that the death is being handled as a homicide after finding blood spots on the outer stairwell wall, along the floor and inside the apartment.  The victim was later identified as Kevin Allen, 17, of Norristown.

Pottsville Mercury photo

The call was dispatched shortly after 7 pm to the upper-story apartment.

WPVI-TV reported further:

"In this case the murderer made some mistakes, so we have some leads to work on," said Chester County D.A. Tom Hogan. When asked if Allen was targeted, Hogan said "It does not appear to be a random attack."

The apartment belongs to the victim's father, who shared parental custody of the 17-year-old with the boy's mother, who lives in Norristown. Allen's father was not at home at the time.

Hogan said it was not unusual for Allen to visit his dad. "They're devastated that they lost a 17-year-old son," Hogan said of Allen's parents.

There was no word on exactly how Allen was killed. An autopsy was planned for late Wednesday.

WPVI-TV posted this video report:

 

NBC 10 Philadelphia also filed this video report from the scene:

 

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

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Posted by on February 13, 2013 • Filed under: arson, crime, fire, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Naughty Firefighter Parade (Cont’d.)

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There's Always An Empty Cell Somewhere

AN ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO, volunteer firefighter was arrested Tuesday and charged with setting  the  wildfire last June that caused the evacuation of the entire town of Elbert.  The Associated Press reports via the Star Herald:

Sheriff’s officials say Elbert Fire Protection District volunteer Alex J. Averette,19, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of charges including second-degree arson, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and second-degree criminal trespass. Bond was set at $50,000.

Averette is accused of starting the County Road 102 Fire north of Elbert on June 24. The fire burned hundreds of acres. Firefighting resources around the state were strained at the time because of other wildfires.

CBS Ch. 4 Denver has the detailed STORY HERE and also filed this video report:

 

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PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, FIREFIGHTER Martin Flora, 48, was arrested and arraigned yesterday (Wednesday) on charges of indecent assault, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful contact with a minor.

WTAE-TV is reporting:

Flora faces felony charges that include indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, and sexual offenses with a minor younger than 13 years old.

In a criminal complaint, police said there are two victims. One of the alleged victims was a 14-year-old-girl who told police she was molested by Flora when she was 11, and home alone with him. The second alleged victim is now 22 years old, but claims Flora sexually assaulted her when she was around the same age.

Flora has been on the job for eleven years and is currently assigned to Station 29, but has been placed on suspension.  He is currently being held in jail on $200,000 bail. 

WTAE-TV has more details HERE.

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Posted by on February 7, 2013 • Filed under: arson, crime, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Murder Victim Found in Garage Fire

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Body Found in Burned-Out Garage

CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, FIREFIGHTERS were called out to a garage fire Tuesday morning and after quickly knocking the fire down, they discovered a body inside the garage.

The fire was dispatched around 2:20 am when some neighbors saw smoke and flames coming from the single-family residence.  The FD arrived within a few minutes and had the fire out in about ten minutes.  The Las Vegas Metro police investigators responded after the fire was deemed suspicious by the FD, and they later determined that the victim was a likely homicide.

The victim has not yet been officially identified nor his cause of death.  The coroner's office will be the source of that information when they determine both.  The resident of the house, according to neighbors, was a man who lived alone.

The fire caused an estimated $75,000 damage.

Fox Ch. 5 filed this video report from the scene:

 FOX5 Vegas – KVVU

KTNV-TV has additional video HERE.

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Posted by on February 6, 2013 • Filed under: arson, crime, Fires, Videos • Tagged:

Arson Charges Against Ohio Firefighter

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Has Been a Volunteer FF For 12 Months

A LANCASTER, OHIO, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, Robert N. Steiner was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on several arson-related felonies.

Steiner, 35, is accused of setting a fire in a local restaurant on January 5 while it was occupied by staff and customers.  The Columbus Dispatch reports that Steiner is accused of starting a fire in a vent in the men’s room of the Fiesta Tropicana Restaurant at 1236 N. Memorial Drive.

The fire was reported at 7:52 p.m. and was minor, resulting in a lot of smoke, but it was a serious matter because customers and employees were inside the restaurant at the time, Lancaster Police Sgt. William C. Tolley said.

Steiner was charged with aggravated arson (a first-degree felony), tampering with evidence, attempt to commit tampering with evidence and two counts of vandalism.

According to Hocking Township Fire Chief Curtis Golden, Steiner has been a volunteer firefighter with the Hocking Township Fire Department since January of 2012.

Hocking Township Fire Department Facebook PAGE.

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Posted by on February 2, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fires, Law & Justice • Tagged: , , ,

Death Sentence for Convicted Arsonist

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Arson Led to 1,000 Homes Destroyed and 5 Deaths

A VIOLENT, CAREER CRIMINAL WHO HAS a long record of brutal behavior, has been sentenced to death after being convicted of setting wildfire ten years ago that caused five people to die.

Old Fire photo by David Schumaker via Wikipedia

Rickie Lee Fowler, now 31, was convicted in August of setting the Old fire in October, 2003.  That fire, set during the wildfire season, consumed over 1,000 homes and directly led to the deaths of five people, mainly from heart attacks following their harrowing escapes from the flames.

In 2009, Fowler was charged with igniting the Old Fire. Authorities believed he was a passenger in a vehicle seen leaving the area where the fire started; the driver of the van, Martin David Valdez, Jr., died of a gunshot wound in 2006. A grand jury indicted Fowler on October 19, 2009, with one count of arson of an inhabited structure, one count of aggravated arson, and five counts of murder.

Rickie Fowler  (Los Angeles Daily News)

Yesterday (Monday) the judge affirmed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Fowler to death for the five homicides and  two counts of arson.  The Los Angeles Times reported this morning:

The Old fire broke out Oct. 25, 2003, at Old Waterman Canyon Road and California 18, and raced through the forest and brush, forcing the evacuation of more than 30 communities and 80,000 people. It came as firefighters were battling a blaze in Upland and Rancho Cucamonga. Six men died of heart attacks, although prosecutors said one could not be directly linked to the stress of the fire.

A jury in August found that Fowler deliberately set the blaze by tossing a lighted road flare into the dry brush at the base of the mountains. After convicting him of murder and arson, that same panel in September ordered Fowler's execution.

During the trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Bullock portrayed Fowler as a sadistic felon who inflicted "misery and mayhem" on those who crossed his path throughout his life. He raped and brutalized two girlfriends, one of whom was pregnant with his son, and turned a cellmate into his personal "sex slave," according to prosecutors. Fowler once attacked a woman who offered him a place to stay, slashing her and her dog with a butcher knife so he could steal a few hundred dollars, Bullock said.

Fowler's crimes "scream out for the death penalty,'' Bullock said during the sentencing hearing.

"Rickie started that fire and the jury did the right thing,'' Bullock said afterward. "Thankfully for the victims and the community, there's finally some closure to this case.''

The Los Angeles Daily News has MORE.

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Posted by on January 29, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged: , ,

Firefighter Charged With 4-Year-Old Arson

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Career Goes Down in Flames

A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER IN BERKS County, Pennsylvania, is behind bars after admitting to setting a house afire in July 2008.  Kellen D. Klee, 23, had applied to be a career firefighter with the Fairfax County, Virginia, Fire and Rescue Department this past November and was facing a routine polygraph examination as part of the application process.  So came clean up front and stated on his application that he had set fire to the house next door to his home four years ago.

Klee pictured at a training class this past October
(Hamburg FD website photo)

The Allentown Morning Call picks up the story:

The comment that Klee allegedly made in Fairfax County was relayed Nov. 28, 2012, to state police at Reading, who had never determined what caused the 4 a.m. July 22, 2008, fire at 279 Schappell Road, the affidavit says. Trooper Michael J. Yeity investigated.

State police asked Klee to answer questions about the Fairfax County interview, and on Dec. 20, Klee provided a written statement confessing that he took fuel from his garage, splashed it on his neighbor's garage and ignited it with a cigarette lighter, the affidavit says.

Klee, who was an emergency medical technician and new Virginville firefighter in 2008, was the first to report the blaze to the 911 center and helped his fellow firefighters put it out, the affidavit says.

The fire destroyed the roof of the single-story house and the home's garage. Damage was estimated at $150,000. Unoccupied at the time of the fire, the house was owned by Bank of New York, with an address in Plano, Texas.

WPVI-TV has provided this video report:

 

Klee is currently free on $25,000 bond.  It is safe to presume that his application with Fairfax County was rejected.

The Pottstown Mercury has MORE.

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Posted by on January 20, 2013 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, investigations, labor • Tagged: ,

Once a Sparky, Always a Sparky

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"Lighting Napkins and Throwing Them in the Air"

GERALD HARRIS OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, is a 71-yr.-old career criminal whose lengthy arrest record includes several convictions for trespassing, battery, vandalism, theft, public drunkenness and three convictions for indecent exposure, and has also been charged twice with failing to register as a sex offender.  Despite all that, Harris is still permitted to roam freely on the streets of Los Angeles County which lead to him being arrested Wednesday for the fourth time in ten years on an arson charge.

The Los Angeles Times tells us:

(Harris) was arrested Wednesday after allegedly burning napkins outside of an In-N-Out burger joint on Brand Boulevard in Glendale because he was "trying to have a good time," police said.

He was taken into custody about 11:19 p.m. on suspicion of committing arson, police said. Harris was discharged on Dec. 7 from serving parole for the same offense, according to Glendale police officials.

Officers saw Harris allegedly lighting a stack of napkins on fire before throwing them in the air in the 100 block of South Brand Boulevard, according to police reports.

Fearing the napkins could set fire to nearby businesses due to windy conditions, police immediately detained him. Harris allegedly told officers he was throwing the napkins because he "wanted to put on a show," police said.

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Posted by on December 22, 2012 • Filed under: arson, Fire Rescue Topics, News • Tagged:

Despondent Woman Burns Her House, Kills Her Dogs – All 33 of Them

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Something Didn't Go Right

NEW YORK STATE TROOPERS were called to respond to a house in the town of Greene yesterday (Monday) to check on a "despondent woman.'  When they arrived they found Michelle Keech, 62, sitting at her burned out house.

Michelle Keech

After questioning her, they determined that Keech had set her house on fire by lighting off the basement.  The fire heavily damaged her house and killed approx. 33 dogs that she had been keeping there.

She was subsequently charged with arson in the third degree, a class C felony, and felony aggravated cruelty to animals.  She has been released on her own recognizance.  Greene is in Chenango County (Binghamton area).  None of the news sources reporting on this story say that the fire department was ever called to the scene, although it may have been the FD that called for the police in the first place.

WBNG-TV has the STORY.

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Posted by on December 18, 2012 • Filed under: arson, Fires • Tagged: ,