ROLES & MOTIVES OF FIRE SETTERS
A work by Trevor Pillinger - http://salamanderconsultants.com
Between the fire setter and the fireworks fan, it is a difference in degree, not a difference in kind (Clifford, W. 1983, First National Conference on Arson, p.1).
Motive
A motive is the cause, the reason or incentive that induces or promotes a specific behaviour. It will cause the individual to act in a particular way. Fire lighting motives may be summarised into five main groups. Fire setting is often a symptom of a highly complex behavioural problem, in which the actual motive may not be readily apparent and often the "why" can be difficult to determine. In fact, some fire setters who have no readily apparent motive merely ask "why not"? There are wide ranges of people who deliberately set fire. These can usually be categorised into the following types, although different researchers have different classifications and often break these up into sub-groups:
- Profit Motivated arsonists
- Group fire setters
- Solitary fire setters
- Serial fire setters
It has been clearly established that revenge is the most common overall motivation for fire setting. That is, that in most cases, whilst there may be one of the above general headings, revenge provides the basis for the most number of deliberately lit fires.
Starting with the easiest to explain, and where the motive is most apparent, are those who have a specific financial or personal "profit" to gain from a fire.
Profit motivated arsonists
The business operator - who set fires in order to collect insurance money,
Paid arsonists, agents, or arson ring - who set fire for monetary gain, or arranges contracts for the arsonists and business for monetary gain.
The householder - who sets smoky fires to collect insurance money in order to redecorate and refurnish the home, or to obtain a new home at the insurance companies expense.
The developer who decides it is easier and cheaper to burn down the premises than to demolish.
Criminal - sets fires to conceal crime, extortion or intimidation. This may be anything from a simple fraud/embezzlement to murder.
Car owner - sets fire to claim insurance money.
Recent Australian research (Kocsis, 1997), indicates that profit motivated fire setters were "predominantly male, family men with their own businesses and that they fit the FBI "organised/disorganised dichotomy".
Their fires tend to be pre-meditated, accelerant or delayed ignition devices are brought to the scene and there is a distinct attempt to destroy or not leave any physical evidence.
Psychological crime scene analysis
Profit motivated arsonist - Organised Offender
| Crime Scene Indicators | Offender Characteristics |
| Primary target commercial facilities | Adult offender |
| Set multiple points of origin | Predominantly self-employed |
| Frequently uses accelerants | Married or in de facto relationship |
| Will use delayed action devices to initiate fire | Usually possesses a motor vehicle |
| Severe damage to target | Generally do not have prior criminal record |
| Seldom forced entry | May commit offence either solo or with an accomplice |
| Seldom leaves physical evidence | Resides within privately owned home |
| Displaces personal effects |
(Kocsis, R, Firepoint, Vol.8, No.4, December, 1997)
Business Operators
Small business fires appear to be in the take-away food, video, pizza and butcher shop areas, although any small business operator who has competition, or whose business is not viable, may resort to a fire as a means to recover funds. Small business fires are often lit by owners who use delayed ignition devices, so that they can establish an alibi. Sometimes amateurs are used, usually trusted employees or neighbourhood juveniles, although a number of similar fires in the area may indicate a professional arsonist. More smaller businesses will fail in economic declines. They may not have the reserves to get through a depressed market, unlike larger business that could ride it out. Faced with bankruptcy, the small business operator may attempt to burn the stock to claim it on the insurance policy.
When investigating these types of fires, consider the following:
- Funds may be urgently needed for repairs. What is the general condition of the premises?
- Stock may be worth less than insured value. Changing fashions can make a large stock almost worthless in a short time.
- Business may be failing or is being used for some other illegal activity.
- Stock may be missing from the scene (taken away before the fire)
- Personal or company certificates, trophies, tools or files may not be found in the fire. It is sometimes more important to look at what is not there rather than what is. Items of sentimental value or irreplaceable tools (specialised businesses) will be missing.
- Decline in business profits, new vigorous competition in the area, roadways changing indicating loss of custom.
- Recent increase in insurance coverage or a decrease in insurance coverage to divert suspicion.
- Some members of the business may stand to gain from the fire. It is not unusual for one partner in a business to “want out’ where the other wishes to remain trading.
- Business may be bound to a long term lease which the proprietor is trying to break.
- Business may be heavily in debt. Record checking will clarify these.
- The proprietor may have expressed a desire to move to better commercial premises
- Stock may have been changed for cheaper versions to provide fire debris. Look at the stock in the premises; is it consistent with the type of business? An up-market clothing shop with cheap garments may mean a substitution.
Paid arsonist and/or agent
Paid arsonist could be involved in work for:
- Loss adjustors to secure a contract to adjust loss
- Insurance agents to stimulate business
- Competitors to eliminate business rivals
- Security companies to secure contracts or to heighten business chances.
- Business people or organised arson rings may insure property and then burn it to make a profit. Statistics indicate that this method is on the increase and that very large amounts of money are involved.
Where an insurance agent is involved, the insurance agent will obtain highly inflated coverage and then split the difference after a successful claim.
In the USA, large arson rings buy run-down property and inflate the value by selling it between members. They then obtain a fire policy for the inflated value and then burn the property before the insurance company can send out an appraiser to assess it.
Sometimes the property owner may work in concert with the tenant. The tenant may claim for expensive items stored in the building, but in fact they may only be cheap items burnt in the fire (second-hand goods) to show that a fire load was there. The items may also have been removed and not replaced. Arson rings also operate in residential areas, using similar methods. The value of homes is increased by claims of renovations, or over-inflated contents. A realtor or an independent insurance agent may control these arson rings, with others participating in the buying, insuring and burning stages.
Copyright Trevor Pillinger http://salamanderconsultants.com