Investigators Believe Accelerants Used in Suspicious House Fire

Private investigators have ruled out in-home gas or electricity as the cause of a fire that destroyed a Fair Oaks home early Sunday morning.

"Right now I believe it was incendiary, meaning it was caused by humans," said Ron Hall & Associates fire analysist and researcher, Ken Miller.

Miller was contracted out by the insurance company used by the home's owner. He's been a professional investigator for the past five years, he said.

Miller explained whatever did cause the fire had to have been able to burn hot enough to engulf the entire house despite the absence of additional fuel like furniture.

"Usually when a house burns, it's the contents of the house that it gets to first, then it goes up," Miller said. "But with no contents, why is it all burned?"

With cases such as the one that destroyed this home, Miller will typically look for points of origin, but the patterns he's found so far don't point in a single direction.

Indications from the remains of the floor lead Miller to believe that a flammable liquid could have been used.

"A burn-through (in the floor) doesn't necessarily mean that it's an incendiary or an accelerant," Miller said. "It just means that it was a hotter spot in the fire; things could've just as easily fallen from above and gone through the floor."

Little clues, Miller explained, like the burnt away portions of floor boards often illustrate a larger story in cases such as this one.

"When someone puts a flammable liquid on a surface like this one, which is plywood, it's going to go into the cracks," Miller said. "And when it burns, that's where it's going to burn."

Most of the burns on the floorboards were in the seams, Miller said, indicating that a flammable liquid could have been spilled.

Looking around at the remains of the floor boards, fresh pieces of wood underneath the home indicate that whatever caused the fire, it burned from the top of the house down and not underneath it, Miller said.

"Typically if it was intentional, they're not going to crawl underneath the house and do it," Miller said. "They're going to do whatever is easiest."

Right now, nothing is being ruled out in the fire, except the home's own gas and electricity, Miller said.

"And probably a lightening strike," Miller joked.

Miller did indicate chemicals used in the production of certain drugs like methamphetamine are not being ruled out, though there are reasons to believe it's unlikely in this case.

"Typically you'd find cans and containers everywhere," Miller said. "And it would smell big time; you can smell it throughout a neighborhood."

While speculation persists as to why the home was set ablaze, Miller says the final decision on the cause is a job for the fire department.

For Sacramento Metro Fire Department, it boils down to prioritizing time and resources after gathering as much information from units and eye witnesses.

"You have to eliminate accidental (cause)," Sac Metro Fire Dept. spokesman, Scott Cockrum said. "Even if he (Miller) is saying it's intentional, and we're not going to disagree with him, we have to determine if we have any witnesses; do we have anyone willing to come forward that might help us to identify a suspect?"

At this point, the answer to at least the latter part of that question is "No," Cockrum said.

"The last step will be to process and analyze every bit of evidence, because it's going to go down to a Sacramento County crime lab," Cockrym said.

However, it's possible with the finite amount of assistance from eye witnesses or those with specific information the evidence could sit in that crime lab for an indefinite amount of time, Cockrum said.

"We need to have the support from the public," he said.

Those with information can call the front desk of Sac Metro Fire's administrative department at 916-859-4300 and an investigator will follow up. Anonymous tips can also be transcribed and delivered to investigators.

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