Alabama State Fire Marshal: People Burning Down Their Own Homes Across State On Upswing

In Montgomery, Alabama, WBRC-TV Channel 6 reports:

• The number of people burning down their own homes is increasing across the state, according to State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk. “It's not race specific. It's not socioeconomic specific. It affects everybody,” Paulk says.

• He describes the situation as the following: A homeowner faces foreclosure. They start a fire, hoping it will be ruled an accident...hoping they'll recoup insurance money. Paulk warns that it is a crime. A crime that he says has doubled in the last year or two as the economy has continued to suffer. [...] UAB business professor, Bob Robicheaux says history shows that in a crippled economy, it is not just homeowners that resort to economic fires. Business owners are known for the practice as well.

For more, see "Economic fires" increase across Alabama.