I'll take it a step further....I have arrested people who have had accidental fires. Not for Arson, but for fraud.

A couple of colleagues worked an accidental fire where the damage was moderate. The pizza joint owner had a hundred or so dollars in the register that he removed and said that was the only cash in his place. An adjuster shows up and talks to the guy in private and he suddenly remembers that he had $75,000 hidden above the drop ceiling that was likely destroyed. Well, his policy had a section where he could claim up to ....you guessed it....75,000 in lost cash in the event of a fire. (15 years ago so some of the details are sketchy) Of course there was virtually no damage between the ceiling and drop ceiling although he was claiming that the cash burned up. He said that he had forgot the cash was there. He later admitted he lied about the cash on the advice of the adjuster and his claim was denied.

Sometimes undetermined is just that...Undetermined. Usually the investigation ends there. However, there are times that undetermined in your mind is likely accidental, and other times that undetermined is likely incendiary but there is not enough to make a definitive call.

What I will do is continue to investigate an undetermined fire that I suspect is Arson until there are no leads and then you move on.

What I will not do is make an undetermined fire Arson if the evidence does not sustain the call.

This is my opinion, but I've been wrong before.

Dan Hebert