More On Foreclosure Arson

The following links are to stories on property in foreclosure that have mysteriously gone up in flames:

• West Asheville, North Carolina: The Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force has identified enough physical evidence at the historic Richmond Hill Inn in West Asheville to determine the cause of the fire to be intentionally set. The fire reduced much of the inn’s 120-year-old mansion to rubble. The months leading up to a devastating fire today at the Richmond Hill Inn were fraught with conflict as current and former owners battled over a $6.8 million debt. The historic inn building and surrounding complex were set to be sold April 16 on the courthouse steps because of an unpaid mortgage. See Fire-ravaged Richmond Hill Inn was in foreclosure.

• Stockton, Missouri: The owner of three businesses and the strip mall that housed them is charged for the fire that destroyed them. Investigators think that owner Dan Thornton, 38, wanted the building burned so he could collect insurance proceeds. According to an ATF investigator: "Investigators have also determined through their investigation that Dan Thornton has several current, adverse financial situations that he was dealing with. For example, Liberty Bank, in which Thornton had his building/business mortgage, had recently initiated foreclosure proceedings against Thornton. Thornton, through his own admissions to investigators, was heavily in debt and had been trying to sell the building and businesses for the past year and a half." Investigators have determined that Thornton maintained approximately $900,000 in insurance coverage. See Owner of burned strip mall in Stockton is charged with arson. Go here for Criminal Complaint & Probable Cause Affidavit.

• Hudson, Ohio: The son of a homeowner was arrested in connection with a fire that broke out at a foreclosed Hudson home. Twenty-nine Hudson firefighters battled a house fire. The main part of the house was destroyed by the fire. Damage is estimated at $400,000 to the structure and its contents. The home was involved in a foreclosure action at the time. See Son Arrested In Connection With Blaze At Foreclosed Home, Officials Say ($400,000 In Damage Done).

• Toledo, Ohio: Already this year, Toledo firefighters have battled more than twice as many arsons as they did during the same time last year - a trend Deputy Chief Phil Cervantes fears could worsen. Chief Cervantes said the spike in arsons locally is likely related to the economic downturn and the increase in the number of foreclosed houses. An increasing number of people are setting houses or vehicles on fire to get out from under loans or mortgage payments. See Arson rate doubles in city in last year; motivation for setting blazes varies.

For other stories on fires & foreclosures, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta

Failure To Winterize Homes, Indoor Floods Due To Burst Frozen Water Pipes Tying Up Fire Department Resources

In Columbus, Ohio, NBC4 reports:

• Pipes in vacant homes are causing problems for fire departments around Central Ohio. Battalion Chief Doug Smith said that when utilities aren’t turned off and homeowners or banks don’t properly winterize, fire crews end up getting tied up with a major mess and not able to answer other calls, NBC 4‘s Mikaela Hunt reported.

• In those situations another fire station has to pick up the slack. Some of the vacant properties are due to foreclosure.

• Hunt visited a vacant house in Genoa Township, where the chief there said the water probably had been running for a week. The ceiling fell in and water was spilling out the door.

Source: Frozen Pipes Cause Problems In Vacant Homes.

See also, The Columbus Dispatch: Weather has pipes bursting (Frozen lines common as vacant homes increase):

• [F]irefighters have responded to 69 calls of damaged pipes so far this month, compared with 33 calls during January last year, [battalion chief Doug] Smith said.

Go here for more on freezing pipes in vacant homes. frozenpipetheta ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta

Wife Survives Failed Attempted Double Suicide, Arson Fire Of Home Lost In Foreclosure; Now Faces Charges In Death Of Husband

In Clark County, Washington, The Columbian reports:

• A former Sifton woman faces an arson charge in connection to a two-alarm house fire that killed her husband nearly two years ago. Prosecutors filed a first-degree arson charge against Sandra J. Cooper, 62, last week in connection to the May 31, 2007, fire.

***

• Cooper is believed to have aided her husband, Allen F. Cooper, 67, in starting the fire that destroyed their rental house [...] according to court documents. Allen Cooper died a day later from smoke inhalation, while Sandra Cooper recovered from her injuries and was eventually discharged from Providence Portland Medical Center. The Coopers had lost the house through foreclosure but had been allowed to rent it back, said Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Fairgrieve.

• Sandra Cooper had given written notice that she and her husband would be vacating the house May 31. According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Fairgrieve, the couple were in financial trouble and weren’t working. At some point, Allen Cooper told his wife "he was going to burn the damn house down with him in it," according to the affidavit.

• The night before the fire, Sandra Cooper confronted her husband about a gasoline odor. He told her he had poured gasoline on furniture. She then went to the garage, took a can of gasoline and allegedly poured it over two antique automobiles, the affidavit said. "She told detectives that she then went back upstairs to be with Al and that she took a series of medications," Fairgrieve wrote in the affidavit. Firefighters found the couple unconscious upstairs in their home just before 5 a.m.

***

• Fairgrieve said detectives had enough physical evidence to deem it arson, but at first lacked suspects. After Sandra Cooper recuperated from her injuries several months later, she told investigators what happened.

For the story, see Woman faces charge in 2007 fire (She allegedly set it with husband, who died from injuries).

For earlier story, see Washington Authorities Investigating Fire Of Home Involved In Foreclosure; Arson Suspected. ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta suicide homeowner foreclosure zeta

Arson Suspected As Vacant Home In Foreclosure Burns To The Ground

In Alvin, Texas, The Facts reports:

• Alvin fire officials suspect arson as the cause of a blaze that destroyed a vacant two-story home and led to a firefighter’s injury early Monday morning. Fire officials received the call about 1 a.m. Monday, and once they arrived at the 3,500-square-foot house [...], it was engulfed in flames, Alvin Fire Chief Rex Klesel said. “The second floor collapsed down into the first floor,” he said. “There was a garage we were able to save.”

***

• The detached, two-story garage had living quarters inside, but the home has been vacant because it’s been involved in foreclosure proceedings for several months, fire officials said. [...] The home had no electricity turned on nor was there any lighting Monday morning, which is why officials believe the fire was set intentionally.

For more, see Vacant house burns to ground; arson suspected.

For other stories on fires & foreclosures, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta

Fires In Vacant Homes On The Upswing?

The Associated Press reports:

• Fires in vacant homes rose 11 percent to 21,000 in 2006 — the latest year for which figures are available — while all home fires rose just 4 percent, the National Fire Protection Association reported in April. More than four of every 10 vacant building fires were intentionally set, the group reported. Some of that is arson for financial reasons. But in neighborhoods of sagging homes worth little, fires are often set by vandals, the homeless or people seeking revenge.

• The threat grows as empty homes multiply, said John Hall, the NFPA's division director for fire analysis and research. Vacant homes nationwide topped 19 million earlier this year, up from 15.7 million in 2005, according to the Census Bureau. "The best way to prevent vacant building fires is to prevent vacant buildings," the NFPA concluded.

For more, see Fire moves into houses abandoned by foreclosures (Fire Moves Into Houses Nation's Foreclosure Crisis Left Abandoned - But Not Always Empty).

For other stories on fires & foreclosures, go here, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta

Fire Inspector Gives Residents In 40-Unit Building In Foreclosure The Boot As Water From Burst Frozen Pipes Floods Premises

In Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reports:

• The freeze-thaw cycle from the recent cold spell apparently caused pipes in an apartment building to burst on Thursday, Jan. 22, sending water cascading through ceilings and displacing as many as 10 residents. Dayton firefighters dispatched to 27 Central Ave. at 4:07 p.m. found water gushing throughout the 40-unit, three-story building and at least 3 feet of standing water in the basement.

• Fire Inspector Andrew Steele told all the residents to leave and firefighters shut off the water, electric and gas service to the three-story building. Steele said residents told him that pipes froze last week, apparently were never repaired, and residents were using bottled water to flush toilets, bathe and eat.

• At least two adult residents have requested assistance from the Red Cross, which will help with housing and clothing and other necessities. According to Steele, the owner of the building lives in California and the building went into foreclosure recently. There was no immediate estimate of the damage caused to the building or its contents.

Source: Pipes at apartment building burst, force out residents.

Go here for more on freezing pipes in vacant homes. frozenpipetheta ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta

Madison Man Mad That Someone Else Now Owns His Foreclosed Home Torches Premises, Say Cops; Now Faces Arson Charges

In Madison, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Journal reports:

• Upset that someone else was living in the town of Bristol house where he once lived, a Madison man stuffed a rag into a vehicle gas tank in the garage and set it ablaze, according to court documents. Derek C. Hightower, 24, only intended to burn the garage [...]. Instead, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday, the fire spread and destroyed the garage, the house and three vehicles. Hightower was charged with arson. [Current owner] Irma Smith told police she bought the house in December from an investment firm after it had been in foreclosure. She intended to move in this summer.

For the story, see Prosecutors: Accused arsonist was mad someone else lived in his former home. ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta

Connection Between Fires & Frozen Pipes

Stories illustrating the connection between fires and water pipes freezing up from the extreme cold weather are coming in from around the country. Here are a few:

• Wheeling, West Virginia: Wheeling firefighters said a man trying to fix frozen pipes ended up setting his home on fire Monday morning in Elm Grove. Fire Chief Larry Helms said the homeowner accidentally caught the wall on fire, which then spread the upper floor of the home. No one was hurt and the homeowner did make it out OK. Frozen Pipe Fix To Blame For Wheeling Fire.

• Winona, Minnesota: A West End home was damaged by fire Thursday evening after plumbers used a torch to thaw pipes earlier in the day. Officials suspect the torch started the fire. No one was injured. Fire crews tore into the exterior wall with chainsaws and axes, searching for flames as smoke seeped from the siding. Frozen pipes lead to fire.

• New Brunswick, New Jersey: A small afternoon fire between the basement and first floor of a city home was quickly extinguished by responding officials a couple of weeks ago. Reportedly, the fire was started when the homeowner attempted to defrost a frozen water pipe on an exterior wall with a heat gun. When the copper piping got hot, some of the wood framing around it caught on fire. Official: New Brunswick homeowner caused fire attempting to fix frozen pipe.

• Kingsley, Pennsylvania: A recent fire that destroyed a house on Main Avenue was caused by attempts to thaw frozen water pipes, according to Red Cross officials at the scene. Frozen-pipe repair leads to house fire.

• Oakwood, Illinois: The family of a local member of the military suffered a blow Saturday when its house burned to the ground. The house is considered a total loss. Fire Chief Tony Frye said the fire was caused by a forced air heater placed in the crawl space underneath the house to warm frozen pipes. He said it’s unknown what was ignited by the heater, although there was some straw in the crawlspace of the home. He said a door left open combined with a hole in the floor of the house from repairs helped the flames spread quickly through the building. “I can’t believe it’s all gone” (Soldier's house a total loss).

• Columbia, Missouri: A malfunctioning heat tape meant to keep pipes from freezing likely caused a trailer fire, according to a news release from the Columbia Fire Department. Investigators said either the heat tape placed on a pipe near the home’s water heater or its extension cord ignited the fire that caused an estimated $50,000 in damages. Batallion Chief Steven Sapp said heating tape is like an electrical blanket for pipes. It is supposed to shut itself off after reaching a certain temperature, but if not installed properly, it can get too hot. Trailer fire caused by electrical malfunction, fire officials say.

• Livonia, Michigan: Livonia fire officials are warning the public about cold weather-related fires after battling six structural fires this week, most of which were caused by people trying to stay warm. One fire started when a resident used a blow torch to heat a frozen pipe. Livonia firefighters battle 6 blazes in 5 days.

• Richmond, Indiana: Preparation is the best way to keep water pipes from freezing when temperatures plunge. But, when they do, open flames are certain no-nos in thawing them: "It sure isn't a blow torch," said Bobby Farris, deputy chief of fire prevention for the Richmond Fire Department. Flames of any kind carry a risk of engulfing a home in minutes -- or even hours later. "You're taking that chance," Farris said. "You might think you have it out, but it could be sitting there smoldering." That's apparently what happened recently at a home being renovated. A fire there was extinguished within minutes after firefighters arrived. It caused about $7,500 in damages. No one was injured. A worker had been trying to thaw pipes with a torch earlier in the day and the radiant heat caught material inside the wall on fire, said Battalion Chief Jerry Purcell. Thaw pipes with care.

• Farmington, Connecticut: A heating element installed to keep pipes from freezing may have been the cause of a morning fire on East Shore Boulevard. Reportedly, fire officials believe the fire resulted from efforts to keep water pipes from freezing, but the Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause. Fire possibly caused by pipe-heating apparatus.

• Kittitas County, Washington: According to Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Rich Elliott, there have been about six structure fires since winter started. There has been one reported fire caused by improper thawing of a pipe. Fire safety tips for local residents in winter weather.

• Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Don’t use open flame butane torches to thaw frozen water pipes. That’s the message from Assistant Fire Marshal Carl Peas of Murfreesboro Fire Department. When Friday’s temperatures dipped to single digits, maintenance workers using butane torches to thaw frozen water pipes at Chelsea Place apartments, the fire department reported. The flames caused a fire resulting in $50,000 damage to four apartments on Bradyville Pike. Also, a resident used a butane torch to thaw pipes at his home. The flame burned insulation and dryer lint under his home. “Never use open flames” to thaw frozen water pipes, Peas said. An open flame used on copper pipes could catch a structure on fire. “Once it gets into the wall, you can’t see it. The fire can run up the wall to the attic.” Butane torch blamed in Chelsea Place fire.

• Madison, Wisconsin: On Jan. 15, a maintenance worker using a torch to thaw frozen pipes ignited insulation in a wall near the pipes, with the subsequent fire causing $50,000 in damages. Torches blamed in 2 structure fires.

• Johnstown, Pennsylvania: A fire marshal determined that the cause of a recent home fire was a space heater. “The heater was used to thaw frozen pipes,” Johnstown fire Chief Tony Kovacic said. “Either the space heater lit materials it was too close to or the space heater had some sort of failure.“Obviously, we’re going to have a lot of pipe issues in the cold weather,” Kovacic said. “Be cautious when you try to thaw (frozen pipes).” City firefighters battle Prospect blaze.

• Petrolia, Ontario: A tenant thawing frozen water pipes with a gas heater in a crawl space was the source of a house fire that caused $130,000 damage to a Petrolia home, the deputy fire chief says. Don Harding, of the Petrolia and North Enniskillen Fire Department, said when he arrived at the home, flames were "shooting out the crawl space" from exposed floor joists that has caught fire. The fire went up the east wall and reached the roof before it was contained. Harding said there was no evidence of pipe wrapping or heater/tracer wire to keep pipes unfrozen at the house. Gas heater caused blaze (DAMAGES ESTIMATED AT MORE THAN $130,000).

Go here for links to other recent stories on frozen pipe problems.

For lenders, mortgage loan servicers and other property owners and managers looking for tips on dealing with frozen pipes, see:

• How To Deal With Frozen Pipes In Extreme Cold Weather,
• More ways to stop frozen pipes and what to do if they burst! frozenpipetheta ForeclosureHomeVacantBeta