By Nikki Cobb
San Bernardino County Sun (California)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
It’s difficult to imagine what was in the arsonist’s mind when he lit the fire that charred 40,000 acres and killed five firefighters in recent days.
There are several reasons that could lead to such a behavior, experts say. And though they wouldn’t venture comment about Raymond Lee Oyler, the 36-year old Beaumont man accused of setting the Esperanza Fire and charged with five counts of murder, they say the person who set the blaze likely fits an arsonist’s profile.
“There are several types, and they are totally different,” said Brian Levin, a criminal-justice professor at Cal State San Bernardino.
Although the arsonist might fit any of a few profiles, there are a limited number of motivations for arsonists, and the most dangerous has its roots in childhood, according to experts.
Stephen Tibbetts, an associate professor of criminal justice at Cal State San Bernardino, said there are four main reasons people set fires.
The most common, Tibbetts said, involves boys under 14 playing with matches. The fires they set are generally considered accidents.
Less benign is the arsonist-for-profit who burns down a building or business for insurance money and the criminal who starts a fire to burn evidence of his crime, Tibbetts said.
More common than you’d think, it’s a firefighter or former firefighter starting the fire. “They’re set because they have a hero mentality or because they’re bored,” Tibbetts said.
Finally, there’s the most pernicious arsonist: The true pyromaniac who is fascinated by fire and lights them almost compulsively, like an addiction.
“There’s a sense of power, awe and excitement people get, particularly these serial arsonists,” Levin said.
But whether a pyromaniacal arsonist is born or made, the behaviors begin early in life.
Nick Andonov, a San Bernardino psychologist, said youngsters at risk of developing such characteristics can be identified early — and helped.
“It’s very important to explore their early childhood,” Andonov said. “They liked to play with fire at a young age, and had weak impulse control that might follow them into adult life.”
And that’s exactly what often happens, said Dr. Mary Anne Schaepper, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Loma Linda University Community Medical Center.
Schaepper said the roots of a serial arsonist can be traced to childhood. What’s more, there are biochemical changes in the brain that might predispose someone to set fires for thrills.
The hallmark of a future arsonist, Schaepper said, is conduct disorders and impulsiveness. The child — most often a boy — is aggressive toward people and animals, and destroys property.
His parents are likely harsh and punitive, or perhaps neglectful. They often have drug and alcohol problems.
“These kids aren’t planning on hurting people with their fire-setting. They have no sense of cause and effect,” Schaepper said. “They don’t plan on hurting anyone — they are fascinated simply with setting fires.”
Thrill-seeking arsonists have higher than normal amounts of the brain chemical serotonin. Whereas in normal people, serotonin promotes happiness, somehow it doesn’t have that effect on a serial arsonist.
“As they grow up, they move into a more classic anti-social type of picture,” Schaepper said. “If you see these characteristics in a child before the age of 6, you need to get onto it then and there.”
“If you don’t get in there and treat it early, they’ll wreak havoc on themselves, their family, and society,” she said. “It’s not a pretty picture.”