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What we have over the criminal is the criminal actually thinks he's destroyed all the evidence.

It's never all destroyed.

Ever, ever, ever, never.

This is Lou Garcia.

I recently retired from the New York City Fire Department as the chief fire marshal.

So I've spent 25 years of my life looking at fires and investigating the causes of fire.

How many fires do you think you've seen?

Oh, tens of thousands of fires. You've seen tens of thousands of fires? Yes, absolutely. You, you think you've seen? Oh, tens of thousands of fires.

You've seen tens of thousands? Yes, absolutely. You, you, you, yourself? Yeah. When he tells me his story. There was, this is a true story. I'm not going to get too many details about it, but there was a fire in an area of New York City. It was in an apartment building in the South Bronx. As I pulled up to this building... The fire was already over when Lou got to him.

There were people in the South Bronx. As I pulled up to this building. The fire was already over when Lou got to him. There were people in the street and were questioning people. People are saying, well, in the apartment where the fire was, there was this brave guy. Somehow he'd gotten in there and he was pouring water, trying to get the fire out. This guy was really something. You know, and he's, and he's a hero right now.

Everybody's telling me what a hero he is.

Everything they were saying in the street about this man was wrong.

So he walks into the apartment and he looks around and he knows right away.

Where the fire started.

Now, how? Well, you just. Where the fire started. Now, how?

Well, you just look at the fire pattern. And he could tell that the fire started, first of all, in the bedroom with a mattress. Mattress, the mattress. Now, mattresses go up if you put a match to it. Really? I mean, don't you have to put, like, gasoline on the mattress? No, no, no, no. You can just put a match onto a mattress and it will catch fire, yes. If you leave a whole deal along off.

And he also. match to it. Really? I mean, don't you have to put like gasoline on the mattress? No, no, no, no. You can just put a match onto a mattress and it will catch a fire, yes.

If you leave, hold it a day long enough, yeah.

And he also knew that the mattress had been placed upright against the wall. You could tell by the fire pattern that was standing on it. Wow, he can even know what position the mattress was in. Yes, absolutely. believe me so he meets the woman whose apartment this is she shows up and he says so do you know this

fellow who was putting out the fire she's yes as a matter of believe me. So he meets the woman whose apartment this is. She shows up.

And he says, so do you know this fellow who was putting out the fire?

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