108. Sounds Like This Is Not A Fire Drill - Catching John Leonard Orr

Setting fires is bad.  Setting fires that destroy property and businesses is worse.  But setting fires so recklessly as to take innocent lives in service of some hidden, inexplicable lust for flame and heat is evil.  And the most evil among those fire-starters are those who are sworn to protect us from that very danger - those in the uniform of firefighters.  And the very worst of all is one John Leonard Orr, the former Fire Chief and Lead Arson Investigator for the Glendale California Fire Department - who during the 1980s and 1990s is believed to have set more than 2,000 (that's not a typo) fires throughout California, using his expertise as a highly-respected arson investigator as cover for his sickness.  All that was bad enough - but when one of his fires - that of a hardware store/home center in Pasadena - resulted in the deaths of four innocents (including an infant and his grandmother), his sickness turned him into a murderer.  In this episode, Melissa details the long, often frustrating road that eventually led to apprehending Orr, and the one dedicated Fire Chief in the middle of the state who suspected Orr was the culprit for years and whose determination finally paid off in the arrest of the man widely regarded as the most prolific arsonist in American history.  SUPPORT JUST THE TIP-STERS!  For as little as $2 per month you can become a patron and get some cool swag as our thanks!  Visit www.patreon.com/justthetipsters for more information.