Accident Or Arson: How Fire Fighters Tell The Difference
September, 1979
Although convicting an arsonist is difficult, detecting arson is comparatively easy for experienced investigators. They begin by finding the fire's point of origin, because, as one told us, "if there's more than one, it's arson."Next, the investigators look for heavy burning along the lower walls and the floor, because that signals an unnatural, downward-burning fire (though some canny arsonists foil this by smearing jellied gasoline, rubber cement or plain old panel adhesive on the up...
