ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR GETS ARSON INSTRUCTION

The recently-formed Cape Girardeau Arson Task force has gained a new ally that should make bringing potential arsonists to justice that much easier.

Cape County Assistant Prosecutor Ian Sutherland recently attended a weeklong "Arson for Prosecutors" school in Olathe, Kan., and will work with the local task force, which consists of members of the Cape Girardeau fire and police departments.

"I suppose there's not much sense in having an arson investigation team unless you have a prosecutor wired into it," Sutherland said. "After all, the ultimate goal of the investigation is the successful prosecution of the arsonist."

The seminar, which was offered by the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, focused on all aspects of fires, fire fighting, fire investigations and arson prosecution.

"First they gave us an overall introduction to fires fundamental information about how fires start and spread under normal conditions," Sutherland said. The Olathe Fire Department also went over its equipment with the prosecutors, and explained the procedure they use in battling structure fires.

"Fire is very predictable," Sutherland said. "As a rule, an accidental fire will start in one location and spread along the line of least resistance.

"But if some sort of accelerant was used to torch the place, the fire will spread more quickly; not necessarily along the lines of least resistance," he said. "There are also differentials in the fire temperature, weather factors, the number of points of origin, and other factors which must be taken into consideration."

To put the information to use, the Olathe Fire Department burned a "test house" to the ground. The prosecutors were then instructed to go in and find evidence that it was a purposely set fire.

"They told us that one of the most important things to do is to actively eliminate all accidental causes of a fire," Sutherland said. "We got in there and literally unearthed a great deal of evidence of the arson.

"The evidence is there if you know what you are looking for," he said.

Sutherland wanted to learn more about of the crime of arson, so as to be able to better prosecute offenders.

"In prosecuting these things, you have to have some kind of clue as to where the suspect is coming from," Sutherland said.

"Arson is an extremely difficult crime to prosecute because the evidence is almost always circumstantial," he said. "You almost never have someone who has seen an arsonist walking into a building, striking the match or leaving as smoke is billowing out the windows that just doesn't happen.

"So you have to build your case on the evidence you have an empty gallon jug which contained some sort of accelerant, a hefty insurance policy, were family photos or the family pets left the home," he said. "All evidence is not destroyed in a fire it may change appearance, but it is not destroyed."

Another key to the successful prosecution of potential arsonists is contacting the owner immediately after discovering the blaze.

"They told us to collect the owner's clothing as soon as we make contact to analyze for the presence of accelerants," he said. "The owner by and large has to cooperate to make it appear as the fire was an accident.

"Besides, most insurance policies are no good if the owner refuses to cooperate," he said.

Something to watch for, Sutherland said, is the potential for the intentional burning of homes ravaged by floodwaters.

"People may not have had any flood insurance, but had all kinds of fire protection insurance," Sutherland said. "Before you know it, you've got a couple of house fires in the flood zones."

Sutherland said that another important aspect of the seminar was the contacts he made with jurisdictions all over the state.

"Things like this allow us to establish a network with people with a great deal of experience in this area," Sutherland said. "If a problem arose in a case sometime in the future, I know I could give some of these people a call to ask for pointers or their opinions of the situation."

With this knowledge under his belt, Sutherland hopes to reinforce the relationship between the Cape Girardeau Fire Department and the prosecutor's office.

Members of the Arson Task Force are called out to all fires of a suspicious nature. The coalition between the departments was designed to draw on the arson knowledge of the fire investigators and the evidence collecting methods of the police department.

With Sutherland joining the group, the process is complete.

"I have no idea if we have an arson problem here or not," Sutherland said. "But I want to be able to sit down with the fire department and discuss such things."