HEAT The Fire Investigators and Their War on Arson and Murder

Hardback. The fascinating world of fire marshals is part police procedure, part forensic investigation. These vivid, eyewitness accounts take readers to the scenes of New York City's most horrifying crimes: mob burnouts, lives destroyed by insurance torchings, grisly arson murders committed out of jealousy or revenge. Fire marshals are a special breed who carry a badge, a gun, and years of experience facing the flames. Here are their most unforgettable cases: the suspicious blazes, the weird breaks, the manhunts, the dramatic shootouts, and the ultimate moments when a disaster is averted or a child's life is saved. The fire marshals speak movingly about those they have arrested and the tough decisions they have made: a woman who burned down her apartment building so that she and her children would be moved to a safer part of town, a boy of 14 who kills himself after his arrest out of remorse for his crime. More horrifying are the vanity arsonists, those who endanger hundreds of lives in order to help put out the fire and, they hope, earn a medal or gain acceptance into a gang. Illus. + Glossary. 239pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. V. lightly browned pp. o/w Nr. F. in Vg+ dw.