Former criminal justice college professor accused of setting fires near Dixie Fire

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. He's hardly the first.

There was a show on NOVA years ago about this guy.

Hunt for the Serial Arsonist

Original broadcast:
November 14, 1995

Program Overview

Experts estimate that one out of every three fires in the United States is set deliberately. Firefighters must report the cause and origin of each fire they fight. If the cause of a fire cannot be determined immediately, a fire investigator may be assigned to the case. Investigators sift through the remains of the fire for clues about the cause of the fire. If there is evidence of arson, the investigators also try to collect information that might help police identify and locate the arsonist. In this episode of NOVA, a series of similar arson fires in California raises concern that a serial arsonist might be at work. The program follows the investigative team that solved this extremely difficult case.

John Leonard Orr

Born: April 26, 1949 (age 72)
Occupation: Fire captain, arson investigator
Criminal status
Federal: Transferred to CA custody in 2002
State: Incarcerated at California State Prison, Centinela
Conviction(s)
Federal: July 31, 1992
State: June 25, 1998
Criminal charge
Federal: Arson
State: First-degree murder, arson
Penalty
Federal: 30 years
State: Life plus 21 years (nine years vacated on March 15, 2000)
Date apprehended: December 4, 1991
Imprisoned at: California State Prison, Centinela

John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist and murderer. Orr was the fire captain and arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. In the 1980s and 1990s, Los Angeles was plagued by a series of fires that cost millions of dollars in damages and claimed four lives. Orr was found to be the cause of most of those fires. During his arson spree, Orr was nicknamed "The Pillow Pyro" by arson investigators due to the location of the fires inside shops.

His modus operandi was to set fires using an incendiary timing device, usually comprising a lit cigarette with three matches wrapped in ruled yellow writing paper and secured by a rubber band, in stores while they were open and populated. He would also set small fires often in the grassy hills, in order to draw firefighters, leaving fires set in more congested areas unattended.

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