Mechanical Arson Fires
Fires and heat cause a lot of property destruction and might result in injuries to the person or even the death of many people. Fires are complex events whose causes are, at times, difficult or impossible to determine. Because of their complexity in determining the origin, all fires are treated as cases of arson until another cause is established. Arson is the deliberate and malicious burning of the property with the intent of destroying it or harming someone. According to the national center for the analysis of violent crimes, arson is motivated by extremism, profit, revenge, criminal cover-up, and excitement.
One of the most challenging types of arson to determine is mechanical arson. Even though most arsons are challenging to investigate since many a time’s evidence is destroyed in the fires, mechanical ones are more difficult. Only about 6% of people charged with arson are ever convicted. For the case of mechanical arson, it becomes hard to investigate since most look accidental and do not require accelerants to be executed. An excellent example of a mechanical arson is when a vehicle parts malfunctions leading to a fire or explosion that results in loss of property or life. If the explosion damages the car remarkably, it becomes hard to establish the cause.
Mechanical arson is hard to investigate because the arsonist typically creates it to seem like an accident. In 2019 there was a case in my area whereby an arsonist caused a gas leakage in the kitchen of a restaurant leading to an explosion. While the incident was a planned arson, it was made to look like an accident. Despite the complexity of mechanical arsons, forensic scientists are developing more advanced techniques for determining the origin of fires.