Recommended: Cameron Todd Willingham case
Incoming! There was a report of a small church fire at Windrix Hill, Oklahoma. The fire started at 2:00 pm on Friday 1965. It was reported as being caused by a burning cigarette left on the floor. Three boys, Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, and Dallas Minston were on the run for a murder of a Soc named Bob Sheldon.
Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist fire Disaster hit March 25, 1911 at 4:40 pm at the Triangle Shirt Waste Factory when it caught on fire by a cigarette bud or burning match. The employees were mainly young women and girls of Italian and Jewish decent and 146 died that day. The workers wanted out of the building but one of the doors was locked in the stairwell. Speculation was that Isaac Harris locked the door. Some of the women and girls jumped off the building and out the windows to trying to survive which was interfering with the firemen trying to put out the fire.
The book Triangle: The Fire That Changed America written by David Von Drehle recounts the dreadful incident of fire that broke out in a Triangle Shirtwaist factory on March 25, 1911 and its aftermath. In the earlier part of nineteenth century Triangle Shirtwaist factory was running a lucrative business in a multistory building in the New York City. The factory was owned by the two men Isaac Harris and Max Blank and it was located on the upper three stories of the Asch Building which was back then considered and projected as an efficient fireproof building (History). On that unfortunate day, fifteen minutes of fire gulped one hundred and forty-six innocent lives who were struggling to keep themselves and their families afloat(CBS).
The spectators played a major role here. To begin with, unidentified person shouted “Do it!” persuading the deceased to set fire. Next, another unidentified spectator threw a cigarette lighter at the deceased’s foot, becoming the tool of igniting the gasoline. Without the lighter, the self killing would not have been achieved.
The arson investigator who belived this was General Hurst and he stated that, “ Flashovers had left natural patterns on the floor that all post flashover fires tend to leave behind, and they had been misidentified as pour patterns. And thus the fire was labeled as arson.” Hurst was one of the only people who believed the fire was not arson. Hurst had the new knowledge of how arson worked and how to properly detect arson unlike the first investigators. Generally those who investigated arson were just firefighters with little to no training.
David Lee Gavitt’s life forever changed on March 9, 1985 when his wife and two young daughters died in a house fire. And in February of 1986 he was convicted of their murders and arson. All due to arson myths. John Fatchett a Detective Sergeant with the Michigan State Police Fire Marshal testified that there were indicators such as pour patterns (two gallons of gasoline dumped on the floor. And the fire was too hot and burned too fast be accidental.
Todd Willingham was convicted in December of 1991 for the deaths of his three young children in a house fire. Willingham told authorities the fire started when he and the children were asleep. The initial investigation, done by local fireman, revealed the fire was intentionally set with a flammable liquid. Questions regarding Todd’s innocence led to a second investigation by an arson expert. This investigation revealed that the fire was due to accidental causes and was not set on purpose.
The first bit of evidence that convicted Tod Willingham of arson was the fire allegations. They were unjustified and used outdated information to prosecute Tod. A study was done by professional arsonist John Letini and Dr. Hurst showing how the fire department’s report was false. “That in and of itself is enough to toss a case out for arson. ”-John
Arson Investigations According to the Armstrong Forensic Laboratory, the number of civilians killed in arson building fires totaled 150 in 2013, which is considered down 16.7 percent from 2012 (Forensics, A). This statistic shows a directed correlation between the deaths and arson crimes that take place each year. On the television program, Forensic Files, the show depicts a crime that was committed and tells the story line based on the events in the crime that happened. On season 1, episode 9, “Whodunit”, of Forensic Files, the narrator tells the audience of a crime that happened where a man named Steve Hricko died in a hotel room located in Maryland.
In preparation for this paper I chose to read Fire in the ashes: twenty five years among the poorest children in America by Jonathan Kozol. In this book Kozol has followed these children and their family’s lives for the past twenty five years. In his writing Kozol portrays a point of view most from his background and standing would not be capable of having. He portrays what life is like for those who have been let down by the system that was meant to protect them. Kozols writing style can be very blunt at times, not for shock value, but for the sake of portraying these children’s realities, and not sugarcoating the inequalities that they are faced with.
The book Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison, by Nell Bernstein is a compelling expose on the inherent evil of juvenile detention facilities. In her eye-opening account of the danger that lies within locking up this nation’s youth, Bernstein utilizes a plethora of rhetorical strategies to urge her audience to recognize and act on her claim. In writing this account on the heinousness of juvenile detention centers and why the system as a whole must be reformed, Bernstein uses personal cause and effect examples, studies and statistics, as well as concrete refutations to advocate the world for change. Bernstein starts her argument by providing readers with personal examples of the effects juvenile detention centers had on a handful of the kids she interviewed. Her first example briefly narrates how Jared, an adolescent many would
Mournful Experience Promethean Fire, choreographed by Paul Taylor in 2002, was viewed by a lot of audience as a tribute for those who lost loved ones from the bombing of Twin Tower on September 11, 2001. More than 3,000 people total died from 9/11 including 343 firefighters who risked their lives to help the survivors and stop the fire and smoke from the building (September). Promethean Fire portrayed what American people went through during 9/11 by using stiff bodies, lifting, and the overall space of the dancers in modern dance. Paul Taylor was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania on July 29, 1930. At the young age of 24, he started a company called Paul Taylor Dance Company and worked with iconic choreographers such as Martha Graham and George Balanchine.
Richard W. Wrangham is a Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University. He had a long term study in Kanyawara chimpanzees and he was well known for his work in the ecology of primate social system. The book Catching Fire refers to the activities of our human ancestors when they began to use fire to practice cooked diet. Although the topic is pretty academic, but Richard used simple sentences and words to explain his ideas well. Yet the proof is still preciseness with provided evidences, and the conclusion is convincible.
At his core, Tyler from Portraits from a Fire by Trevor Mack is an awkward teenage filmmaker sculpted by family trauma. With long brown hair and a lanky build, Tyler's awkward nature can be attributed to having limited socialization. Emotionally neglected by his father and excluded from his community leaves him lonely. Without a support system, he has adopted independence both physically and emotionally. This seclusion builds throughout the film as Tyler’s questions about family secrets are left unanswered.
In his research, he found out this story “blew up” and became very famous to any firemen serving around this time. At this time in his life, he was young and didn’t have a purpose in life. He wanted to learn more about being a fireman but never pursued the job. Instead, he would
