YOUNGSTOWN State official discusses aspects, motives of arson

Harvey, a chocolate Labrador, demonstrated his sniffing skills at the arson bureau.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Most arsonists light fires to seek revenge -- not to collect insurance, an official says.
Love triangles, too, can lead to arson, said Chief Thomas Huston of the Ohio Fire Marshal office in Reynoldsburg. Angry people, he said, use fire as a weapon of destruction.
Arson-for-profit is most often seen in poor economic times, when car or house payments can't be made, Huston said. In the arsonist's mind, the fire takes away the payment and allows them to collect the insurance.
Huston spoke Thursday at the Youngstown Fire Department arson bureau on South Avenue. May 4-10 is arson awareness week.
To deter arson, Huston suggested not storing stuffed furniture on a porch and not allowing trash to accumulate. Vehicles, he said, should be parked in well-lighted areas.
Types of arsonists
Investigators, Huston said, sometimes come across "vanity" or "hero" arsonists.
A night watchman who has little to do and may fear a layoff, will set a vanity fire to show his boss that he's needed on the job. The hero arsonist will set a fire so that he can later receive accolades for being on the scene, saving lives or property.
Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. said he's proud of the success of his department's arson bureau, with only Capt. Alvin Ware and Lt. Kevin Johnson to handle the caseload. Arson is the most difficult crime to prove, O'Neill said.
Even though the arson bureau is small, it has at its disposal local and statewide resources, O'Neill said.
From 1990 through 2002, the arson bureau made 740 arrests and had 654 convictions, records show.
Arson is a costly and deadly crime, Huston said. In 2001, Ohio recorded 7,000 deliberately set fires, with the loss of 13 lives and $64.5 million in property damage, he said.
Some canine help
Dogs trained to detect ignitable liquids are just one of the tools investigators use, said Dennis Cummings, a state fire marshal's investigator. Cummings demonstrated the technique with his 9-year-old chocolate Labrador, Harvey.
Cummings said Harvey, rescued in 1996 from a dog pound, would be able to pick out a drop of diluted gasoline placed in a can on a spinning wheel that held four cans labeled A, B, C and D. The cans contained burnt material, such as paper.
With Harvey out of sight and pacing, eager to work, Cummings put the gasoline drop in the A can and spun the wheel.
In a fraction of a second, Harvey alerted on the correct can and got his reward -- food. "Good boy! Good boy!" Cummings told his partner, adding a head rub and scratch under the chin to complete the praise.
Cummings then switched the A can to the slot labeled C, joking that he wanted to prove to the audience that Harvey wasn't reading the labels. He spun the wheel.
Harvey's head made little circles as his nose followed the spinning wheel. He jammed his nose in the C can.
To throw Harvey off, Cummings said: "No! No! That's not it, you're making me look bad."
Harvey ignored his partner's protestations and kept his nose stuck in the C can slot. He was not in the least deterred.
A new truck, the MIRV, (Major Incident Response Vehicle), was unveiled Thursday. The vehicle, with an elaborate communications system, is available statewide free of charge for any community with a large-scale fire investigation.
meade@vindy.com