MODULE FIRE TECHNOLOGY AND ARSON INVESTIGATION

CHAPTER IX
Motives of Arson

Motive
 Motive is the moving cause which induces a person to commit a crime.
Is Motive Necessary to be proven in Criminal Proceedings?
 No. motive is not necessary to be proven in criminal proceedings but once
motive is shown, then intent can easily established.
 In the crime of arson, the distinction between motive and intent is clearly
defined.
 INTENT is a material element of arson while motive is not. INTENT is the
purpose of design with which the act is done and involves the will while
MOTIVE is what induces the criminal.
Motive Can Be Established By:
I. Economic Gain
A. Insurance fraud with the assured directly benefiting:
1. Desire to move
– the premises may no longer be desirable because of the condition
of the building, the fact that the quarters are outgrown or because
of the locality.
2. Disposing of Merchandise
– the stocks on hand may have lost value by reason of the seasonal
nature of the business, obsolesce, scarcity of materials necessary
to complete the contracts, overstock in the absence of expected
order or a changing market.
3. Property Transaction
– the business itself may no longer be desirable because of
impending liquidation, settlement of an estate of which it is a part,

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the need for cash, prospective failure, the comparatively greater
value of the land, or the comparatively greater value of the
insurance benefits.
B. Profit by the Perpetrator other than the assured:
1. Insurance agents wishing business
2. Insurance adjusters desiring to adjust a loss by securing a contract
3. Business competitors
4. Persons seeking jobs as protection personnel
5. Salvagers
6. Contractors wishing to rebuild or wreck
Concealment of Crime:
 The arsonists may set fire to a building in order to conceal a
projected or past crime. He may wish to divert attention in order to
loot the burning premises or steal in other places. The burning may
be for the purpose of destroying evidences.
Punitive Measure:
- An arsonists may use fire as a means of punishing another person for
reason of jealousy, hatred or revenge.
Intimidation or Economic Disabling:
- The fire may be used as a weapon of the saboteurs, the strikers or the
racketeers to intimidate or to disable economically as a step toward
forcing submission to certain demands.
Pyromania
– is the uncontrollable impulse of a person to burn
anything without motivation. Pyromaniacs usually do not run
away from the scene of the crime, usually alone and feel
satisfied watching the flame

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Types of Pyromaniacs:
1. Abnormal Youth – Epileptics, imbeciles and morons may set fire without
knowing the seriousness of the act.
2. The Hero Type – a person may set fire on a building, subsequently
pretends to discover it and turn in the alarm so that he will appear a hero
to the public. A person may burn a building and endeavor to achieve
spectacular rescue in order to attract the attention of spectators.
3. Alcoholics and Drug Addicts – persons who subject themselves to intense
artificial stimulants such as narcotics sometimes develop a strong urge
toward incendiaries.
4. Sexual Deviates – some sex perverts derive sexual stimulation from
setting a fire and watching the flame. Frequently, he is chronic
masturbator who stimulates and enhances his sexual gratification by
means of arson.
Public Disturbance
- an offender may resort to arson as a means of a public disturbance
because a fire attracts people and destruction causes confusion that gives
rise to attendant problems that divert police attention.
Vandalism
– It is a general term denoting intentional burning to destroy properties.
In determining motive, a fire investigator concentrates on three major
factors:
1. Points of origin of the fire
2. Modus operandi of the arsonist
3. Identify of persons who might benefits from the fire.
Incendiary Materials
- materials used to start a fire; combustible fuels
1. Arson Chemicals (liquids) – are incendiary materials often used by
arsonists as accelerants. Possess excellent properties. Examples: alcohol,
benzene, petroleum ether, gasoline, kerosene, naptha, turpentine.
2. Gases as acetylene, butane, CO, ethylene, hydrogen, natural gas,

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propane, these are common gases resulting in fires from explosion. These
when mix with air possess excellent in ignition properties and when
present in an enclosed area can lead to explosion.
3. Solids as chlorates, perchlorates, chromates, bichromates, nitrates,
permanganates – are typical families of oxidizing agents which give off
oxygen on decomposition thus aiding in combustion.

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