Search for answers: Investigation into determining fire’s origin under way

Investigators trying to figure out if Friday’s towering fire at an Oakland construction site was ignited by accident or attack will likely spend weeks combing the wreckage for clues, while talking to neighbors and developers and consulting specialists in fire behavior before drawing a conclusion.

Veterans of such investigations say that while the inferno left much of the sevenstory building on Valdez Street unrecognizable, the detail-oriented exercise ahead should yield signs of whether the earlymorning blaze was deliberately set: Was there more than one ignition source? Was an accelerant used? Did witnesses see people near the starting point? Could someone have wanted the building burned for personal or financial gain?

In the hours after the fire, federal and local investigators who responded to the gutted housing and retail development declined to comment on possible causes. But some local leaders and builders were quick to call the blaze suspicious — or at least worry it was. One city councilman suggested on Twitter that the Alta Waverly project, slated for 196 market-rate units, was targeted as a protest to new housing.

The councilman, Abel Guillen, de-

clined to elaborate, and it wasn’t clear if he had inside information about the fire or was simply responding to the fact that the Oakland area has seen four big fires at housing construction sites in recent years confirmed as arson. A mixed-use complex on the Emeryville-Oakland border was hit twice in the past year. No arrests have been made.

Suisun City Fire Chief Mike O’Brien, who is president of the California Conference of Arson Investigators and is not involved in the Oakland investigation, said the new probe is likely to begin by ruling out what didn’t cause the fire. For example, the 4:30 a.m. start time might disqualify construction activities that took place during the day — though some work, like electrical installation and plumbing, can spark fires when crews aren’t around.

The location of the fire’s ignition, which in typical cases is relatively easy to determine by speaking with witnesses and firefighters as well as studying burn patterns, also eliminates possible factors, O’Brien said.

“As you start saying no, no, no, you eventually get to a maybe, and then you get to a yes,” he said.

Physical clues will generally come quickly for fire investigators, despite a charred scene. Specialists in explosives, accelerants or mechanical equipment might be brought in to help.

“A lot of times there is a lot of evidence still there. It’s just burned and in a different form,” O’Brien said. “Sometimes matchsticks, as long as you don’t move them, will stay in the shape they are. And the BIC lighter doesn’t go away. The plastic does, but maybe not the top metal piece.”

The search for tangible clues usually accompanies a broader review of what was going on at the site, including interviews with workers and neighbors and a deeper dive into the property’s history, finances and insurance. Investigators may also compare Friday’s fire to the past arson fires, in case they are connected. In the Emeryville blaze, authorities released a grainy photograph of a suspect spotted at the scene at about the time the blaze erupted.

“Witnesses have a tendency to disappear very quickly,” said Bryan Spitulski, senior fire investigator for Northern California Fire Scene Investigation, which is not involved with the Oakland fire but has done work in the area. “A lot of the witnesses don’t want to be found either.”

People who set fires, in some cases, can be very difficult to track down, Spitulski said. Trained arsonists often try to destroy evidence by making the fire burn hotter or bigger, maybe disabling sprinkler systems before setting the blaze or putting heavy objects in doorways to make it harder to fight.

“The mind is amazing and the bad guys are always coming up with new things,” he said.

Experts say there’s no end to the reasons people start fires. Disputes among neighbors can be catalysts, as can greed and fraud and political causes.

Local and federal investigators have provided few details about the past arson blazes, and that’s likely strategic, said Spitulski. Solving an arson case, he said, sometimes boils down to getting a suspect to offer information that only the fire-starter would know. When such information is made public, an opportunity is lost.

There’s also fear that when investigation details are disclosed, they can compromise a case if it goes to court. Arson cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute.

“When I was city investigator, I avoided the media,” said Spitulski. “If we don’t spill everything out there, it’s all the better.”