Modus Operandi by Mauro Corvasce (universal ebook reader txt) 📕

Arson is covered in the law by degrees, which accommodate different intents of the arsonists, such as causing death or bodily injury to a person or collecting insurance for destruction or damage to the property.

Cause

There are two types of fire causes. The first is accidental. An accidental fire is caused either by someone's carelessness or by equipment malfunction.

The second fire cause is the incendiary fire. This fire is started on purpose by an individual with the intent of destruction. An incendiary fire may have indications of multiple fire origins, and a flammable or combustible material used to start the fire may also be found. There may be few, if any, contents remaining in the building, but valuable or irreplaceable items, such as photographs, insurance papers or money, will not be recovered, as the arsonist may steal such items thinking they will be presumed lost in the fire rather than stolen.

Origin

Origin and cause are closely related. When considering using arson and fire investigators as part of your plot, keep the following rules of fire in mind:

1. The cause of the fire will be found at the point of origin.

2. The fire will burn longer at the point of origin than at other places to which the fire has spread.

3. If any flammable or combustible materials were used to ignite the fire, a sample should be found at the point of origin.

4. The fire will spread from the point of origin to the rest of the building (this is known as the direction of fire travel).

5. Determining the point of origin will either confirm or refute the stories of the principals involved.

Obviously, there are many ways to start a fire. Here are some of the most common, along with other attendant terminology.

Dynamite is basically used to blow up an object, but it could be used in conjunction with another fuel source, such as gasoline, to create not only a blast but a fireball that would spread the fire quickly. Sticks of dynamite are short and fat or long and thin. They are stamped with a product

name (gelatin dynamite), a date-shipped code, and the manufacturer's name.

Cast boosters are small and stronger than dynamite. When detonated, cast boosters look like soda cans. These explosives are used to increase or support other explosives, and they can be used like dynamite to spread the fire faster. They are stamped with the product name, size, weight, and a date-shipped code.

An Electronic Detonator or Blasting Cap is an aluminum-shelled primer —a smaller explosive used to ignite a larger blasting agent —about the size of a small rifle cartridge. This aluminum shell has two wires at one end. The aluminum shell is placed into the explosive, either dynamite or plastic, to begin a chain reaction once the primer is set off. The wires exiting the aluminum shell of the primer are attached to a pair of electrical wires and then to a detonating device.

Black powder is basically gun powder, similar to what was used in single-shot muzzle-loading rifles and pistols. It can be compressed in a container to cause an explosion. These containers become pipe bombs. Black powder can also be used to refill inert fragmentation grenades which can be purchased through military surplus stores.

Cartridge count is the total strength of an explosive composed of the explosive's weight, density and strength.

Detonation occurs in three ways: manual (lighting a fuse), electric/electronic (sending a current), or mechanical (pulling a pin out of a grenade).

Military explosives are compact, waterproof and olive-drab, shipped in cardboard containers or coated by a Mylar film package.

Commercial explosives are more brightly decorated than military explosives, stamped with a description of use, and safety warnings.

Primacord (also referred to as detonating cord) is a spool of multicolored fabric-covered wire. Inside the fabric covering is a high explosive used to send a detonating wave. If you wrapped the cord around a tree and detonated it, the tree would be cut in half where the cord rested. Primacord is utilized by the military to quickly clear LZs (landing zones) or to cut through bridge supports.

A delay mechanism can be either an electrical, chemical, or mechanical time-delay element. This device can be used alone or in combination with others. It could be as simple as a burning cigarette resting on a book of matches or a wristwatch wired so that when the hands come together an electric circuit is completed.

Incendiary material burns with a very hot flame for a certain period of time and is used to set fire to other material and eventually the structure itself. These materials need not be sophisticated or scientific; they could be as simple as a cigarette.

Automobile and Other Vehicle Arson

Automobiles seem to be very combustible. As you are quite aware, they contain flammable liquids, have many electrical circuits, and their interiors are made of combustible material. Combine that with a careless smoker and you have a vehicle fire, or so you would think. But actually, with new technology, most interiors are fire resistant—a cigarette will seldom ignite a seat cover or floor mat, the fuel systems are designed with safety in mind, and the electrical circuits are shut off by fuses and other interrupt devices.

Accidental vehicle fires do occur, but the fire generally remains in one compartment, i.e. engine, trunk, glove compartment or interior. As with all things, an accidental vehicle fire can also engulf the entire vehicle. Mauro investigated one such occurrence when a teenager, who decided he could make it home with a flat tire, drove home on the rim. He did not realize the rim was a magnesium alloy, and the friction of driving started a fire of unbelievable temperature, which consumed the vehicle in a short time.

There are two types of vehicle arsonists: amateur and professional. An amateur is usually behind on his car pay-merits and desperate to rid himself of the car. He knows that the vehicle must be declared totaled by his insurance company, so he will go for mass destruction. The professional is not necessarily a professional arsonist but a professional criminal who