10-13-2024, 01:39 AM
Cor sat as his desk. It had been a long night. The call for the fire at the Blackthorn Mansion had gone out, but by the time they had arrived on scene, nothing but a pile of rubble existed. Their response time had been stellar. They had simply gotten the call too late to do anything.
"Mornin' Cor," Cor turned to see Jim Goodman standing at the door, his lead fire investigator.
"Mornin' Jim. Please tell me you have good news for me," Cor said, stifling a yawn.
"Good news, not really, but I do have coffee," Jim responded, placing a cup in front of the Fire Chief.
"Fucking close enough," Cor responded, taking a long sip as Jim placed the file on the desk. " You know, my predecessor told me that anytime you had an investigation, you brought him coffee in the morning. It's the sole reason you still have your job! Cor gave him a wry smile, before becoming serious and opening the file. "What have we got here?"
"Not much - the entire structure was destroyed, but I was able to gain a little bit. Checked the CCTV, all cameras went out in the area about a half hour before you guys got the call - the structure wasn't on fire at that time - at least, not externally - but I saw no signs of an internal fire either."
Cor narrowed his eyes. "House had to be built - what - 1960s or 70s. Pre-synthetic everything. House that size wouldn't go up that fast. Even if it was newer. Maybe fully involved, but nowhere near that amount of damage. And the camera's going out - was that a localized event?
Jim nodded, "From what I can tell, yeah. I'm 99% sure this wasn't an accident - and the only reason i say 99 is because they told me in academy to never say you're 100% on anything.
Cor nodded, taking a long sip of his drink. "What about the fire spread - any idea how it could have spread that fast."
"Never seen anything like it - well maybe once. Military guys showed me how much damage a flamethrower could do."
"You think the arson used a flamethrower?" Cor sounded skeptical.
Jim chuckled. "Not at all - there were no traces of any accelerant found."
"You're fucking kidding me!?
Jim shook his head. "Nope - fire burned hot and it burned fast - it was hot enough that all the bodies found were just skeletons."
"Shit!" Cor said, running his hand through his hair. Any theories?"
"Probably multiple ignition sources - looking at a team of arsonist setting off fires in multiple rooms at once. It's a shakey one, but it's all I got."
"You're talking multiple flashpoints occuring simultaneously - I'm not even sure that's possible. There'd be way too many factors involved. There... his voice trailed off, as a thought occured to him.
"Whacha thinking, Cor?"
"What if we're looking at our first case of a channeler arsonist? You have any idea what they can do fire wise?"
"Not a clue - we have no data, so this is just a hunch? Cor nodded. "A good hunch, I'd say - more likely that my idea. We sending this to CCDPD?"
Cor nodded. "Yeah - all evidence we do have points to this being planned - at least most of it. This is now a crime - which means it's out of our hands. Send the report - ignition source inconclusive, but definitely arson. Our theories will be on the report?"
"I'll include them - you want them both?"
Cor nodded. "Might as well - as always PD will have our full cooperation and if they need any of our resources - just ask."
Jim nodded, waiting for Cor to sign the report before taking it. "You got it Chief!"
Jim left, leaving Cor with his coffee. He finisehd the cup. All this channeling bullshit had the potential to change fire fighting more than they had seen in decades. Cor began to formulate a plan - he needed to know what they could do - both as arsons and as fire fighters.
"Mornin' Cor," Cor turned to see Jim Goodman standing at the door, his lead fire investigator.
"Mornin' Jim. Please tell me you have good news for me," Cor said, stifling a yawn.
"Good news, not really, but I do have coffee," Jim responded, placing a cup in front of the Fire Chief.
"Fucking close enough," Cor responded, taking a long sip as Jim placed the file on the desk. " You know, my predecessor told me that anytime you had an investigation, you brought him coffee in the morning. It's the sole reason you still have your job! Cor gave him a wry smile, before becoming serious and opening the file. "What have we got here?"
"Not much - the entire structure was destroyed, but I was able to gain a little bit. Checked the CCTV, all cameras went out in the area about a half hour before you guys got the call - the structure wasn't on fire at that time - at least, not externally - but I saw no signs of an internal fire either."
Cor narrowed his eyes. "House had to be built - what - 1960s or 70s. Pre-synthetic everything. House that size wouldn't go up that fast. Even if it was newer. Maybe fully involved, but nowhere near that amount of damage. And the camera's going out - was that a localized event?
Jim nodded, "From what I can tell, yeah. I'm 99% sure this wasn't an accident - and the only reason i say 99 is because they told me in academy to never say you're 100% on anything.
Cor nodded, taking a long sip of his drink. "What about the fire spread - any idea how it could have spread that fast."
"Never seen anything like it - well maybe once. Military guys showed me how much damage a flamethrower could do."
"You think the arson used a flamethrower?" Cor sounded skeptical.
Jim chuckled. "Not at all - there were no traces of any accelerant found."
"You're fucking kidding me!?
Jim shook his head. "Nope - fire burned hot and it burned fast - it was hot enough that all the bodies found were just skeletons."
"Shit!" Cor said, running his hand through his hair. Any theories?"
"Probably multiple ignition sources - looking at a team of arsonist setting off fires in multiple rooms at once. It's a shakey one, but it's all I got."
"You're talking multiple flashpoints occuring simultaneously - I'm not even sure that's possible. There'd be way too many factors involved. There... his voice trailed off, as a thought occured to him.
"Whacha thinking, Cor?"
"What if we're looking at our first case of a channeler arsonist? You have any idea what they can do fire wise?"
"Not a clue - we have no data, so this is just a hunch? Cor nodded. "A good hunch, I'd say - more likely that my idea. We sending this to CCDPD?"
Cor nodded. "Yeah - all evidence we do have points to this being planned - at least most of it. This is now a crime - which means it's out of our hands. Send the report - ignition source inconclusive, but definitely arson. Our theories will be on the report?"
"I'll include them - you want them both?"
Cor nodded. "Might as well - as always PD will have our full cooperation and if they need any of our resources - just ask."
Jim nodded, waiting for Cor to sign the report before taking it. "You got it Chief!"
Jim left, leaving Cor with his coffee. He finisehd the cup. All this channeling bullshit had the potential to change fire fighting more than they had seen in decades. Cor began to formulate a plan - he needed to know what they could do - both as arsons and as fire fighters.