Facility Was Unlicensed

THE OWNER OF THE "CHRIST IS LOVE" DRUG REHAB center that burned down Saturday has been arrested.  The fire that consumed the entire 3-story building killed 27 patients and injured many more.  Firegeezer reported on the deadly blaze last Saturday HERE.  Raul Garcia, who's son perished in the blaze, and his assistant turned themselves over to the police Sunday.  The court has issued warrants for two more men who were in charge of the facility's security.

AP

The police say that the clinic was unlicensed, had no fire extinguishers and no escape routes or fire exits.  BBC News tells,

The few survivors of the fire said they were locked inside the centre when the fire broke out.

Before handing himself in to police, Mr Garcia told journalists that he was innocent and that the clinic was a "house of God". The centre used Biblical teachings to treat dozens of people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.

Officials are also investigating whether recovering addicts were held at the centre against their will or subjected to abuse.

Lima's fire chief said that the FD had to punch holes through the walls from a neighboring building to get to some of the trapped survivors and the heavy iron gates at the entrance had to be cut open with large power saws.

Nuevo Ojo

Despite the size of cities like Lima, the capital city with a metro-area population of 8-½ million, all of the fire departments in the entire country are all-volunteer and notoriously underfunded.

The Associated Press has MORE.

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Everybody Lost in This One.  Will Somebody Go To Jail?

FIRE INVESTGATORS CONTINUE TO search for and identify evidence from the devastating fire that destroyed the GG's Island Restaurant in Riverside County, California, last Tuesday morning.  (See Firegeezer video report HERE.)

Desert Sun photo

The Registered Architectural Landmark has been the center of serious contention between the current occupant and the former owner of the restaurant with both of them claiming ownership of the premises.  The public feud has led the area residents to become very suspicious about the cause of the fire along with their wrath from seeing the local landmark destroyed.

The Palm Springs Desert Sun has been digging heavily into the records of the conflict and published a very good review of the questionable activities  of the combatants and published their report HERE.  It's worth the time to read the 5-page report.

They also filed this brief video taken during a walk-through of the burned-out eco-structure:

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Suspect Questioned

THE TRAGIC FIRE IN LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND, this past weekend that killed four siblings has been determined to be an arson.  (See the Firegeezer report from Sunday HERE.)  The fire began in a closet in one of the attic bedrooms where all four victims were sleeping.  There was very little fire damage, but heavy smoke generated from the small fire.  The coroner has reported that all four victims died from smoke inhalation.

This Wednesday the police arrested Dyson Allen, 18, on suspicion of murder and held him for questioning.  He was released on bail today and is now at an undisclosed location out of the county while waiting to be recalled for further questioning.  He is believed to be a friend of Reece Smith, 19, who was one of the fire fatalities.

This earlier candid photo of Dyson Allen
was released to the press.

The house had four smoke detectors installed, but none of them were working Saturday night at the time of the fire.  Four-year-old twin girls and a 2-yr.-old boy also perished.  The Daily Mail adds:

(Detective Chief Inspector Neil) Esseen added: 'Obviously, given that we now have a man under arrest, I cannot go into details about certain aspects of the investigation.

'However, what I would say is that we are at the very early stages of a major investigation and are following a number of different lines of inquiry. At this stage it is still unclear as to what happened in the lead-up to the fire starting.

'I would renew our appeal for anyone with information that could assist our inquiry to come forward. This is a tragic incident and our thoughts remain with the family at such a difficult time.'

The officer would not be drawn on whether the suspect in custody was a guest at the party held at the house on Saturday night.

 ITN has posted DCI Esseen's press statement:

The Daily Mail has more details and an extensive photo display in their updated report HERE.

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"Every time I see incidents like AMRI I'm convinced we really are
a third world nation with delusions of greatness,"

THOSE WERE THE WORDS OF Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir where Calcutta / Kolkata is located in India, after he saw the preliminary report on the deadly fire in the elite, high-dollar hospital  last Friday.

The death toll has reached 96 so far with several people still in critical condition after a large fire in the basement filled the 5-story hospital building with thick, deadly smoke.  (See Firegeezer video report HERE.)  There are several such hospitals in the city that cater to the rich and charge major sums for private rooms and multi-room suites.

A special report to the Toronto Globe & Mail continues:

The fire took place at the AMRI Hospital, one of the elite private medical institutions that dot India’s big urban centres. These hospitals provide the latest in diagnostic and surgical procedures, offer wealthy patients multi-room in-patient suites, "platinum waiting lounges" and charge as much as $1,000 a day as a basic bed rate – not much, compared to private medical care in the West, but fees accessible only to a tiny Indian elite.

But as details released in the past few days from the investigation of the fire make clear, the "first world care" offered by the hospital was only skin deep.

The investigation has, so far, found out that:

• The hospital was not sprinklered.
• There were no functioning smoke alarms.
• The staff had no fire training.
• When the fire began, most of the on-duty staff fled the building, abandoning their patients.
• Many mobile patients who could have self-evacuated could not leave their rooms because the windows were sealed and there were no fire escapes
• When the fire broke out, many neighbors poured into the hospital grounds to begin rescuing the trapped victims, but the hospital security guards closed the gates to keep people out, thus contributing to the death toll.
• When the first fire engine arrived two hours after the fire began, they were also locked out of the grounds.

• Hospital management was storing diesel and other highly flammable materials in the basement – as fuel for generators, to cover for frequent power outages – as well as trash, much of which was also highly combustible, including boxes, gas cylinders, electric cable and old mattresses.

NY Times / Reuters

The Globe & Mail continues:

(An) investigation by the Times of India revealed that in October, when a private security guard in the hospital found a small fire and called the fire department, hospital management suspended him without pay in punishment.

When the Kolkata fire department launched an inspection of other private city hospitals in the wake of the AMRI fire, it found that most lacked working fire alarms, and many were storing waste onsite. Several had approach lanes too narrow for fire-tending vehicles to reach them, and dysfunctional hose systems.

Probhir Rose, director of Woodland, one of the city’s oldest and most prestigious hospitals, reacted angrily to suggestions his hospital was unsafe, telling the Indian Express that his facility had a fire alarm system, they just weren’t using it.

Nine hospital executives have been arrested and are being held.  There are strong codes on fire safety in hospitals, but the fire inspectors are routinely bribed by the hospitals to overlook non-compliance.

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Arsonist Also Died in Explosion, Blaze

THE DEATH OF A WOMAN RESIDENT OF A SENIOR-CITIZEN apartment building in Edmonton, Alberta, has been officially classified as a homicide.  The Edmonton Police Service released the results of their investigation of the August 2nd explosion and fire on Friday.

August 2 photo of Bethany Seniors Home fire  (CBC)

The Edmonton Journal reports:

Anna Fedorio,83, died after a fire tore through Bethany Senior Citizens Home at 99th Street and 83rd Avenue.

Police were called to the residence shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 2. Investigations revealed that Ken Kopiak, 64, set fire to his car that was parked below the residence. Kopiak then entered his apartment, where he poured gasoline throughout his third-floor suite, police say. Fedorio, who lived next door to Kopiak, died after a fire and explosion in his suite.

Kopiak died in the same fire that killed Fedorio. His death has been ruled non-criminal, a designation that includes suicide. Police say the fire was caused by Kopiak's actions, but would not give details about how or why the fire was started.

Friends of Kopiak's had said that he was despondent in the time leading up to the arson, suffering from kidney failure, stomach cancer, and losing his life's savings in the stock market.

The fire caused $1.3 million in damage and forced nearly 60 residents to move out and find other living accommodations while the building undergoes a 1-year reconstruction.

The Edmonton Journal has the latest STORY.

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Unsolved Crime Squad Strikes the Match

THE CALGARY, ALBERTA POLICE, IN WHAT they call an "investigative re-enactment," set some fires in a vacant tavern Tuesday as part of an investigation into a 5-yr.-old murder.  The Calgary Herald reports:

Cold case investigators say they have made progress in the unsolved killing of waitress Brenda Meyers, 41, who died in March 2006.

Police said Monday they have identified a "person of interest" in the homicide and could also have DNA evidence. With that progress, they will move ahead with a "investigative re-enactment" and light parts of the building on fire, under supervision of the fire department.

Meyers was found in the basement of the Brentwood location of Madisons Cafe and Bar. She had been killed and the place was set ablaze. "We're going to do an investigative re-enactment and start a fire inside to see how the fire spreads from different areas of the restaurant," said homicide unit Staff Sgt. Grant Miller.

March 2006 photo taken just after the murder in
Madisons Cafe & Bar  (Calgary Herald)

The restaurant has since changed ownership and the new owners are co-operating with the police investigation, which comes as the restaurant is undergoing renovations.

Police say that significant advancements in DNA laboratory testing have permitted the case to be re-opened.  They also emphasized that any video of Tuesday's testing will not be made available to the public.

Read the report from the Herald HERE.

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 Fire Trapped and Killed 52 People

THE DEADLY ARSON OF A CASINO in Monterrey, Mexico, on August 25 (see Firegeezer report HERE) is believed to have been a retaliation against the owner for failing to pay an extortion demand by the Zetas drug cartel.  A group of thugs poured gasoline all around the entrance and lobby before torching it off, trapping many of the patrons and employees inside the building.

AFP / Getty

The Federal prosecutor is running a massive investigation and search for the people responsible.  So far, six arrests have been made, one of them a police officer.  The prosecutor's office released a list of another 18 suspects yesterday along with artist's drawings of some of them.  The government announced rewards totalling $1.3 million for information leading to their arrests.

The owner of the casino fled the country, presumably for his own safety, and has been located in the United States.  Investigators are hoping to be able to interview him soon.  The corruption in the Mexican police departments and prosecutors' offices in endemic and widespread.  The Los Angeles Times is reporting today:

Days after the fire, a video emerged showing the brother of Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal accepting large wads of cash at a blackjack table in another casino. The mayor's own party asked him to step down pending the outcome of the investigation.

The brother, Jonas Larrazabal, said in a statement that he was merely collecting payment for Oaxacan cheese he sells. One of the stacks of cash was estimated to be worth about $32,000.

This video report by Reforma shows the first of four raids by armed cartel members carried out on May 25 where they burst into the casinos in broad daylight, terrorizing the customers and ransacking the casinos.  The next frames show the mayor's brother a few hours later accepting a wad of cash at the blackjack table.  The raids ceased right after the payoff.

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Many Others Involved Though

POLICE IN BERLIN, GERMANY, ARRESTED TWO PEOPLE, a man and a woman, Tuesday after they were observed setting fire to a parked BMW automobile at 5:25 am.  The car was completely destroyed and the two autos on each side of it were heavily damaged.  A greatly increased police presence is in the city following the arson spree of two weeks ago when more than 70 cars were torched over a 5-day span.

The BMW from Tuesday morning.  (dpa)

Firegeezer reported HERE on the activity during the past four years where groups have been maliciously burning nearly 900 cars around the city, some of them politically motivated extremist groups, while others have been copycat arsonists doing it for the fun of it.  Read the article for the details of how they operate.

Early Tuesday morning a neighbor observed the two culprits looking around the parked BMW in a suspicious manner and then shortly after they walked away, the car lit up on fire.  The witness notified the police and gave them a detailed physical description of the pair and they were picked up in the area shortly after that.

Berliner Morgenpost interviewed the eyewitness in this video report:

Following the outburst of arsons two weeks ago, the Federal police service moved 650 officers from around the country into Berlin for additional resources to track down and catch the arsonists.  One hundred of them are investigators assisting the Berlin detectives.  The two people picked up the other night, a 27-yr.-old man and a 23-yr.-old woman are not considered to be part of the political factions, but rather "free-lancers" acting independently.  They were released on bond Wednesday.

Thanks to Christian Lewalter / FWNetz
Autogazette STORY.

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Million-Dollar Bond Set

THE NOW-FORMER SCHOOL TEACHER who was arrested Monday for burning down the Lincoln, Nebraska, school district's headquarters building in May was formally arraigned yestereday (Wednesday).  Sharon Brewster, 44, was first arrested for suspicion of first-degree arson, but at yesterday's arraignment she was charged with second-degree arson.  The Lincoln Journal-Star tells why:

The charge means prosecutors do not have to prove Brewster had reason to believe anyone was inside the building at the time, just that she intentionally started the fire, Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly told reporters after Brewster's afternoon court appearance.

The charge also means Brewster, 44, faces a possible sentence of one to 20 years in prison, not the 50-year maximum that comes with a conviction for first-degree arson. Other possible penalties include restitution and a fine of as much as $25,000.  County Judge Mary Doyle set Brewster's percentage bond at $1 million.

Sharon Brewster

While the police are not disclosing all of their evidence, they are saying that they believe Brewster used a lighter to set a pile of papers afire on her superior's desk.  At the time there was another school employee in the building who discovered the fire.  The Journal-Star continues:

Asked if he believed Brewster intended to destroy the entire building at 5901 O St., (County Attorney) Kelly answered: "No, and I don’t have to prove that. All we have to prove is that she intended to start a fire that was gonna damage the building.

"The investigation has developed a lot of good information about what a motive might have been," Kelly said. "We have quite a bit of information about that, but it’s not appropriate for me to talk about that now.”

Read the full report in the Journal-Star HERE.

The Omaha World-Herald ADDS:

Although LPS officials on Monday pointed to Brewster’s employee badge and electronic key-card as evidence that she had been in the building that day, Lincoln Chief Fire Inspector Bill Moody said it was old-fashioned shoe leather that identified Brewster as a suspect.

A witness had reported seeing someone matching Brewster’s description on the scene, he said. Investigator Ken Hilger’s detective work and interviews of school employees helped him develop a hypothesis that pointed to Brewster.

"We worked 2 1/2 weeks at the fire scene, and we couldn’t come up with anything remotely accidental for a cause," Moody said. "Then we started looking at the people who had come and gone, and Ken developed her as a person of interest. . . . He did an outstanding job."  Moody declined to offer possible motives for setting the fire, saying more information would be available later in court documents.

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Other Victims May Possibly Be Buried in the Rubble

THE SEARCH RESUMES TODAY in the San Antonio apartment complex where a major fire Wednesday morning burned down two buildings (See Firegeezer report HERE) containing 24 dwelling units.  Our initial report said that a 6-yr.-old boy and an adult woman were missing and presumed to be buried in the burnt rubble of the buildings.  Efforts were made yesterday to begin searching for them and other possible victims who also have not been located or accounted for.  But there were still too many hot spots, flare-ups, and partial collapses yesterday preventing any search.  Also the debris was too hot for the paws of the cadaver dogs that have been brought to the scene.

Express – News photo

The boy's mother remains in the intensive care unit at the hospital.  The missing woman was in another section of the apartments, but it is not certain that she was in the apartments when they burned. 

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