Posted on 06/08/2008 5:52:34 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
If they've brought in a national team, they're not taking any chances. They may figure they have a good chance of catching the perp, and thus want to dot their 'i's and cross their 't's on the forensic evidence. The dogs are amazing, they can find traces of accelerants when the mechanical sniffers can't. I am very sensitive to mercaptans, and I'm better at finding a gas leak than the Atlanta Gas Light repairman's little machine . . . and my dogs' noses are many times more sensitive than mine.
Wish I'd had video to help nail an arsonist! Our old vain wish about "catching the guy with a match in his hand and a smile on his face" may be true for the very first time!
In our cases, the motives were almost always financial when arson was involved -- another old saying, "The mortgage rubs against the insurance policy and you get spontaneous combustion." This could well be politically motivated -- and they won't have any evidence in that regard until they catch their man.
A very, very strange case! It sure has knocked my 'conventional wisdom' into a cocked hat!
Have you heard anything about what they saw on the video?
Apparently they saw a single individual, one who should not have been there, right before the fire started. None of the stories I read indicated that they'd seen the person start the fire...which would be convenient.
Head will roll at DPS, who was supposed to be providing security. But, unlike the rolling heads at the top of the USAF, it will probably be done quietly.
The last time I was at the Capital I had to park and walk aways. I’m just guessing but I would think there would be a security room where several blocks are watched. Even if this person was masked I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t see he/she driving up or away.
Please start a new thread about something important to you so that we can all jump in and attempt change the subject to something completely different and act all sanctimonious about it.
It wasn't "useless" to this "people."
Do you not have an appreciation for history? This "useless" house has been inhabited since before the Civil War by Texas govenors.
I would think more likely to be either ideologically motivated maybe just some wacko who has his own personal ideology.
Definitly different than arson for financial reasons. Not as much motivation to "be sure", thus only a single ignition point, just as much motivation to get out of Dodge ASAP. Possibly also dumb luck to set the fire upwind of most of the structure, on a night when at the wind gusts were substantial, and even the steady wind had been pretty stiff just a little earlier.
Without the profit motive, there are just too many suspects.
Hope they catch him soon, and throw the book at him.
Not too far away. Depending on direction you get a different ethnic identity. MLK is 8 blocks north, Chavez is 9 blocks south. :) But the University of Texas is just north of MLK, with the dorms, coops and frat houses just a few blocks farther north.
Without the profit motive, there are just too many suspects.
Hopefully the video, both directly on the mansion and capital building, but also on nearby commercial buildings.
There was a statement in a story at KVUE stating that the fire did not start with an explosion. And they are still looking for accelerants with dogs. I would think they'd have found any common ones by now. You might be interested in the Slide shows here and here too
Particularly interesting are the inside shots of the steel truss roof, added in an earlier renovation. It's all twisted and bent, mirroring the visible condition of it's outside.
There are other ways to start a fire, but arsonists overwhelmingly use gasoline or natural/LP gas. If this fire was not started that way, then that's yet another anomaly in this very odd case.
One thing I will say is that the interior damage does NOT indicate a lot of any accelerant. Believe it or not, the general damage is not all that bad (it's all relative, I guess). Most of the roof damage was probably caused by the asphalt layered under the roofing catching fire and burning steadily backwards. It's worst right at the porch, in one photo you can see that the roof has completely separated from the columns by a matter of 3-5 feet.
I just object to spending millions of taxpayer funds for this. Private donations should be raised.
It's different than the speaker's apt.--IMO.
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