Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercraft, or forests. The crime is typically classified as a felony, with instances involving risk to human life or property carrying a stricter penalty. Arson that results in death can be further prosecuted as manslaughter or murder. A common motive for arson is to commit insurance fraud. In such cases, a person destroys their own property by burning it and then lies about the cause in order to collect against their insurance policy.
Cameron Todd Willingham was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Since Willingham's 2004 execution, significant controversy has arisen over the legitimacy of the guilty verdict and the interpretation of the evidence that was used to convict him of arson and murder.
The Happy Land fire was an act of arson that killed 87 people on March 25, 1990, in the Bronx in New York City, United States. The 87 victims were trapped in the unlicensed Happy Land social club, located at 1959 Southern Boulevard in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Most of the victims were young Hondurans celebrating Carnival, many of them part of the Garifuna American community. Cuban refugee Julio González, whose former girlfriend was employed at the club, was arrested soon afterward and ultimately convicted of arson and murder.
The Arsonists, previously also known in English as The Firebugs or The Fire Raisers, was written by the Swiss novelist and playwright Max Frisch in 1953, first as a radio play, then adapted for television and the stage (1958) as a play in six scenes. It was revised in 1960 to include an epilogue.
Anti-abortion violence is violence committed against individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence have included destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes against people, including kidnapping, stalking, assault, attempted murder, and murder; and crimes affecting both people and property, as well as arson and terrorism, such as bombings.
Fire investigation, sometimes referred to as origin and cause investigation, is the analysis of fire-related incidents. After firefighters extinguish a fire, an investigation is launched to determine the origin and cause of the fire or explosion. These investigations can occur in two stages. The first stage is an investigation of the scene of the fire to establish its origin and cause. The second step is to conduct laboratory examination on the retrieved samples. Investigations of such incidents require a systematic approach and knowledge of fire science.
Forensic electrical engineering is a branch of forensic engineering, and is concerned with investigating electrical failures and accidents in a legal context. Many forensic electrical engineering investigations apply to fires suspected to be caused by electrical failures. Forensic electrical engineers are most commonly retained by insurance companies or attorneys representing insurance companies, or by manufacturers or contractors defending themselves against subrogation by insurance companies. Other areas of investigation include accident investigation involving electrocution, and intellectual property disputes such as patent actions. Additionally, since electrical fires are most often cited as the cause for "suspect" fires an electrical engineer is often employed to evaluate the electrical equipment and systems to determine whether the cause of the fire was electrical in nature.
John Leonard Orr is an American convicted serial arsonist, mass murderer and former firefighter. A fire captain and arson investigator in Glendale, California, Orr was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder; he is believed to have set nearly 2,000 fires in a thirty-year arson spree, most of them between 1984 and 1991, making him the most prolific serial arsonist in American history.
Paul Kenneth Keller is a serial arsonist and convicted murderer from Lynnwood, Washington. He is serving 107 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2079. He was convicted of setting over 107 fires and admitted to setting over 76 of them making him one of the most prolific serial arsonists in American history. His fires killed at least three people and caused more than $30 million in property damage during a six-month period during 1992–1993.
David J. Icove is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Profiler and FBI Academy Instructor in the elite Behavioral Analysis Unit. He was one of the FBI's first criminal profilers to specialize in the apprehension of serial arsonists and bombers. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers and co-author, along with Gerald A. Haynes, of Kirk's Fire Investigation, the leading textbook in the field of fire investigation.
The Chengdu bus fire was a mass murder–suicide attack that occurred on a bus in Chengdu, People's Republic of China, on June 5, 2009. It resulted in 27 deaths and 76 injuries. The attack was not connected to terrorism.
The Last Alarm is a 1940 American crime film directed by William Beaudine and starring veteran character actor J. Farrell MacDonald.
The 2011–2012 Los Angeles arson attacks were a series of fires started on December 29, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. It was the worst case of arson reported in the area since the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Harry Burkhart, then 24, who was wanted in Germany on suspicion of burning down his home, was charged in Los Angeles in January 2012 with 28 counts of arson of property and nine counts of arson of an inhabited structure. Prosecutors said that Burkhart was "motivated by rage against Americans" and sought to terrorize as many people as possible when he torched dozens of cars, homes and garages late at night, when most residents were sleeping, to inflict maximum fear and damage.
"Fire" is the season premiere of the fourth season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC on October 20, 1995. The episode was written by Julie Martin and was directed by Tim Hunter. The two-part story centres on Pembleton and Bayliss' investigation into a pair of arson-related homicides, and introduces a new regular character, Arson Squad detective Mike Kellerman, who subsequently transfers to Homicide and partners with Det. Meldrick Lewis. This episode also flagged the permanent departure of regular characters Stanley Bolander and Beau Felton.
"Fire " is the second, concluding part of the two-part season premiere of the fourth season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC on October 27, 1995. Both parts were written by Julie Martin ; Part 1 was directed by Tim Hunter, and Part 2 by Nick Gomez. This episode concludes the investigation of a pair of arson-related homicides, led by detectives Pembleton and Bayliss, with their Arson Squad colleague Det. Mike Kellerman.
On December 24, 2001, arsonists set fire to the Woodbine Building Supply Company building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, causing an explosion and leading to one of the largest fires in the city's history. The arsonists were conspiring with John Magno, co-owner of the store, who desired to destroy the struggling business to collect a fraudulent insurance claim and clear the site for construction of a condominium development. The fire led to the evacuation of over 50 homes on Christmas morning, and the death of one of the arsonists. After many years of sitting as an idle lot, it was replaced by a condo building, Carmelina Condominiums, completed in 2015.
Frank Morris was an American businessman who died as a result of arson to his shoe shop in Ferriday, Louisiana, a city with a history of racial violence. There have been allegations of witness intimidation, evidence tampering, and involvement by local law enforcement. No charges have been brought despite three FBI investigations.
The Bohumín arson attack took place on 8 August 2020 at an apartment building on Nerudova Street in the town of Bohumín, roughly 300 km north-east of Prague, Czech Republic. Eleven people were killed and fifteen were injured. Police arrested 54-year-old arsonist Zdeněk Konopka in front of the building. The perpetrator, who had four prior criminal convictions, admitted to pouring 8 liters of gasoline into plastic bottles at a nearby petrol station and going to his son's flat. It was bustling with people who were celebrating a birthday party to which the perpetrator was not invited. He poured the gasoline in the hallway within the flat and then onto the entrance doors and set it ablaze. This led to the extremely fast spread of the fire throughout the flat with no escape route possible.
On 17 December 2021, a fire occurred in a psychiatric clinic located on the fourth floor of the Dojima Kita Building in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. The fire is suspected to have been started deliberately. 26 people were killed and a 27th was injured.
