This is an LA Times Studios podcast.

Chris Gafford here at LA Times Studios.

Thanks for joining us on Crimes of the Times.

In today's episode, the story of a renowned fire investigator who turned out to be a prolific

arsonist and whose thinly veiled novel proved to be a

key piece of evidence against him. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

As a fire investigator, John Orr seemed to have instincts that verged on the superhuman.

During his years at the Glendell Fire Department, the city experienced a spate of suspicious fires

and Orr had an uncanny knack for finding the incendiary device that started them.

He bragged of catching more than 40 serial arsonists.

He published articles regularly on the psychology of firebugs,

and he trained investigators across the state in how to find them.

One of his maxims was,

The bug is in the crowd.

When a mysterious fire ignited at Ole's Home Center in South Pasadena in October

1984, it did not seem out of place when Orr showed up. Orr was a few miles outside his jurisdiction,

but he happened to be in the area, and he began snapping photographs.

The fire killed four people, including a two-year-old boy and his grandmother.

Orr announced it had the markings of arson and was irate when the Sheriff's Department ruled in an accident, likely started by electrical wiring.

Years later, Orr was peddling a novel called Points of Origin. It's about a Southern California

arson investigator who derives a sexual thrill from setting fires himself and who uses his special

knowledge to avoid capture. In Chapter 6, Orr's villain,

...