Suspected serial arsonist behind rash of Detroit fires

**Zacha341** · June-27-12, 06:51 AM

DETROIT [[AP) - Authorities say fire crews in Detroit have responded to a string of about 16 building fires on the city's east side.

Arson was a possibility in the late Sunday and early Monday blazes. In one place, a fire burned several homes and a building formerly used as a church. The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News report 16 fires were involved in all, and the cause of the fires was under investigation.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/18...ial-arsonist-b

**daddeeo** · June-27-12, 09:05 AM

Somebody with too much time on his hands. There are like a spreading disease in this city.

**Danny** · June-27-12, 10:04 AM

Oh No! That fire phantom wants its demands. Tear all the abandon buildings down or will burn it down like Devil's Night!

**birwood** · June-27-12, 10:23 AM

Think about this angle?.....I hope I'm way off base with these thoughts.....BUT! 1st...What if it is someone who used to be in the administration and lost their position with in the past few years and now getting even to embarrass the city. 2nd...What if it is a person who is about to be laid-off and their whole life has just been upset and gone down the toilet....3rd If its someone from within DFD/DPD wanting to stop any and all lay-offs. This individual, whoever it is or individuals involved have had to know the internal working of the DFD in order to cause enough confusion and commotion to draw fire companies from other parts of town, leaving those areas uncovered. Its bad enough fire companies are browned out everyday, but actions like this make things worse for everyone.....I sincerely hope that I'm wrong.

**mauser** · June-27-12, 11:49 AM

Isnt the arson of unwanted property now fully sanctioned by the City and by the DFD as a cheap way of demolishing crap with no permits ? I thought they gave specific permission to burn everything, and they promised not to intervene...several times actually.

**Detroitnerd** · June-27-12, 11:59 AM

My theory: Firebugs get paid to burn down buildings so the people consolidating their landholdings get the properties demolished on the city's dime. Much cheaper to pay a firebug $1,000 to burn down a building than to pay for [[and deal with any possible community objection to) the responsible demolition of a building.

**Meddle** · June-27-12, 12:18 PM

I believe it has something to do with the demolition contracts.

It would be interesting to see a study of which house on the demolition list for "X" months suddenly burn and are moved up on the list. Then compare to who might have been the original contractor and who got it after the burning.

**Wild** · June-29-12, 07:40 PM

Oh my! Detroitnerd. I just ran across this thread. What a surprise; we agree. I have been saying for months the city or possibly owners who might still have insurance, are behind these fires.

**Detroitnerd** · June-29-12, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by Wild

Oh my! Detroitnerd. I just ran across this thread. What a surprise; we agree. I have been saying for months the city or possibly owners who might still have insurance, are behind these fires.

Yeah, Wild, I'm sure there's even more we could agree on.

I can recall at least one story where they caught one of these firebugs and he confessed to being paid a large sum of money to commit the arson. I wonder if some news organization could do some of the checking up described here. Might come up with some interesting evidence ...

**jba** · June-30-12, 06:03 AM

Originally Posted by birwood

Think about this angle?.....I hope I'm way off base with these thoughts.....BUT! 1st...What if it is someone who used to be in the administration and lost their position with in the past few years and now getting even to embarrass the city. 2nd...What if it is a person who is about to be laid-off and their whole life has just been upset and gone down the toilet....3rd If its someone from within DFD/DPD wanting to stop any and all lay-offs. This individual, whoever it is or individuals involved have had to know the internal working of the DFD in order to cause enough confusion and commotion to draw fire companies from other parts of town, leaving those areas uncovered. Its bad enough fire companies are browned out everyday, but actions like this make things worse for everyone.....I sincerely hope that I'm wrong.

You're not only wrong you are nuts! Too much time on your hands....

**black gold man** · June-30-12, 07:34 AM

Small fire across from me last night. Maybe just smoke i think fireworks in a
open house.
It was a fire task force 7 trucks and boss car that showed up
8 mile east side.
And a reporter/camera man in tow.

**Danny** · June-30-12, 10:23 AM

Friday, June 29th 2012. The Fire Phantom struck the old Detroit Truck Company Building in Fort St and St Anne. Next to the Ambassador Bridge. It was a 2 alarm blaze.

**wolverine** · June-30-12, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by mauser

Isnt the arson of unwanted property now fully sanctioned by the City and by the DFD as a cheap way of demolishing crap with no permits ? I thought they gave specific permission to burn everything, and they promised not to intervene...several times actually.

Legally they can't make such promises. Suppose it suddenly became very windy and some burning debris blew over onto my rooftop and set my house on fire. I'd sue the hell out of whatever departments made such statements if they voluntarily decided to ignore extinguishing abandoned property.

I can understand prioritizing response when simultaneous fires are happening, but to completely ignore a fire with resources available defeats the purpose of a service you pay taxes for.

**Gannon** · June-30-12, 10:45 AM

Didn't these start happening just after Charlie LeDuff got that one guy fired?!

Just sayin'...

And don't nobody look this way, I was up north last week. I can prove it!

**compn** · June-30-12, 11:02 AM

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/n...z/-/index.html

are we on par or greater for fires vs last year ?
anybody got the stats?

arson capital of the world?

Investigators call the firefighter layoffs and the cuts in the arson squad “The Perfect Storm” of bringing the city of Detroitright back to being the arson capital of the world.

**Richard** · June-30-12, 11:06 AM

"We're the only city in the entire country that has to marshal 60,000 people every October to prevent our citizens from burning their own city down," said Jon Bozich, the former chief of investigations for Detroit Fire, who retired in 2001.

He's asking Mayor Dave Bing how he could cut the number from the Arson Division when fires are out of control.

"Persons responsible for it are never arrested, and then it kind of like grows, when somebody sees a fire in a neighborhood and they see all the excitement that's caused, a lot of people who would normally not be arsonists, and we've seen this time and time again in neighborhoods, would set a fire."

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/18...s-from-15-to-9

When you compare the demo list to the fire addresses some are on there some are not but because the list is so big it is a matter of odds.Or one may never know.

But you never really see any PSA concerning arson in the media just stories about the end results,can they not also post the prosecutions and kinda get the word out or at least make it seem like something is being done about it.Not that it is not it is just not out there and gives the perception that it is a behavior that is accepted,but firefighters are getting injured and killed because of this.PSA is not a high cost factor considering what is at stake.

I am one that does not agree with the dropping of the number of investigators considering what is at stake it questions what ones values are.

**birwood** · June-30-12, 11:31 AM

JBA.....Your right I may have too much time on my hands only because Birwood is RETIRED DFD....How About You????.....Your experience and knowledge about the fire service is ?????

**thecarl** · June-30-12, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

But you never really see any PSA concerning arson in the media just stories about the end results,can they not also post the prosecutions and kinda get the word out or at least make it seem like something is being done about it.Not that it is not it is just not out there and gives the perception that it is a behavior that is accepted,but firefighters are getting injured and killed because of this.PSA is not a high cost factor considering what is at stake.

Richard, I totally agree. One thing the city has been very bad at is creating messages encouraging people to engage in healthy behaviors. Instead, you have Brooks Patterson on a billboard stating "I'm a believer." How about, "Respect YOUR City," or, "Get RESPECT," with images of people throwing litter in a garbage can, fixing up homes [[instead of burning them), helping elderly citizens, etc.

I still think of how charismatic Kilpatrick was, and how he could have delivered convincing messages to the youth of the city that might have really transformed Detroit. Leadership in the Motor City needs to create positive messages that resonate with its citizens, but it seems they hardly try.

**rex** · June-30-12, 07:27 PM

ive been thinking the same thing for the last few years. Probably a few firebugs in the city. Large abandoned buildings and empty factories without power aren't supposed to spontaneously combust on the middle of the night

**Wheels** · June-30-12, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by Gannon

Didn't these start happening just after Charlie LeDuff got that one guy fired?!

Just sayin'...

And don't nobody look this way, I was up north last week. I can prove it!

People in the Pointes do tend to hire out their dirty work.

**poobert** · June-30-12, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by thecarl

Richard, I totally agree. One thing the city has been very bad at is creating messages encouraging people to engage in healthy behaviors. Instead, you have Brooks Patterson on a billboard stating "I'm a believer." How about, "Respect YOUR City," or, "Get RESPECT," with images of people throwing litter in a garbage can, fixing up homes [[instead of burning them), helping elderly citizens, etc.

I still think of how charismatic Kilpatrick was, and how he could have delivered convincing messages to the youth of the city that might have really transformed Detroit. Leadership in the Motor City needs to create positive messages that resonate with its citizens, but it seems they hardly try.

Depending personal accountability and civic responsibility from the citizens of this city is anathema, sadly. Ask not what you can do for your country but what your country owes you, is the mantra. Many exceptions indeed, but such a pervasive mentality.

Blows my mind that every house on my block is great looking but for the able-bodied ghetto LOSERS next door who don't pull the weeds ever and cut the grass only when it's out of control. Do they have any shame? Nah. Why? I don't know. That kind of worthless, shiftless lifestyle is more foreign to me than Outer Mongolia.