The most prolific serial arsonist in American history has broken his silence from prison.
John Orr, 75, a former California fire captain and ‘superhuman’ arson investigator spoke out from Mule Creek State Prison to defend his novel, Points of Origin.
Orr was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder in a damning 1998 case that saw the fire-addict sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The book, which tells the story of a firefighter turned serial arsonist, was used as key evidence in his conviction as prosecutors described it as ‘a thinly veiled memoir of his crimes’.
However, speaking with the Los Angeles Times from the Ione prison, Orr denied that he was describing himself in the novel, later published in 2002.
‘It was all fiction,’ he said. Orr defended his writings claiming he used his experiences as inspiration, creating his villain ‘from two or three of the serial arsonists’ he apprehended.
‘I gathered as much intelligence as I could when I apprehended these type of people,’ he said.
Some who crossed paths with the convict claimed he wanted to fit in ‘real bad’ but ultimately couldn’t ‘get along’ with the crowd he longed to be a part of.
Born in 1949, Orr grew up in Highland Park, and later served in the US Air Force before his honorable discharge in 1971.
In 1974, the fire enthusiast found a job at the Glendale Fire Department – one of the lowest-paying departments in the county at the time – after being rejected by several other agencies. He would often appear on TV news stations as the reassuring face of the department.
‘He wanted to be a cop real bad,’ Ed Nordskog, a former bomb investigator who has studied Orr’s case, said.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s psych evaluation had found Orr to be unstable, and the Los Angeles Fire Department found him physically unfit, according to the Times.
‘His crew hated him. He’s not a big rugged fireman. He’s pudgy, he’s prissy, fastidious and neat. Doesn’t go in for the pranking and hijinks that firemen do. So he doesn’t get along with these guys.’
His novel seemingly bore a stark similarity to his real-life experiences as the firefighter-gone-bad antagonist was a misfit in his department.
‘Although attractive physically and athletically built, Aaron found himself insecure and unable to initiate relationships,’ Orr wrote.
‘His conversations were inept and usually self-centered, causing normal people to avoid him. He had no regular friends. Even his co-workers found him difficult to relate to.’
Yet, speaking from prison, Orr said: ‘None of those characteristics apply to me. I was quite comfortable in the workplace, at parties. I had lots of friends.’
He claimed that in chapter 6 he was just following a writing instructor’s advice to ‘make your antagonist as evil as you can’.
Prior to his sweeping conviction, Orr was dubbed as ‘superhuman’ for his superb skills in detecting arson and all things fire.
He had an unnatural ability to find incendiary devices amid rubble.
He bragged of catching more than 40 serial arsonists, and explored their methods and psychology in articles for American Fire Journal.
However, his uncanny fire detection skills were called into question after the former arson investigator’s eerie novel was unearthed by detectives investigating Orr in 1991.
The hero of his manuscript, Aaron, is a tenacious, gun-packing arson investigator in Los Angeles.
The villain, however, is a socially stunted pyromaniac who finds sexual arousal in the blazes he sets, and who uses his specialized knowledge as a veteran firefighter to escape detection.
In chapter six of his novel Orr appeared to have recounted a fire he himself had investigated in 1984.
‘The fire was ineptly termed accidental,’ Orr wrote in Points of Origin. ‘Aaron wanted the Cal’s fire to be [ruled] arson. He loved the inadvertent attention he derived from the newspaper coverage and hated it when he wasn’t properly recognized.’
The fire, dubbed the Ole’s fire, killed four people, including a two-year-old boy and his grandmother.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department quickly ruled the deadly blaze an accident, claiming it likely started by faulty electrical wiring. However, Orr disagreed, feeling someone may have set the fire deliberately.
‘The deaths were blotted out of his mind. It wasn’t his fault. Just stupid people acting as stupid people do,’ he added.
The FBI would eventually call Orr the most prolific serial arsonist of the 20th century.
When he eventually went on trial for the Ole’s fire in 1998, prosecutors presented his manuscript.
However, his defense attorney argued: ‘We live in L.A. Everyone’s got a script or a book they’re trying to sell.’
Speaking from prison Orr maintains that he does not regret his authorship.
‘I’m not sorry that I wrote it,’ he told the Times.
Orr is believed to have set nearly 2,000 fires in a 30 year arson spree, most of them between 1984 and 1991, making him the most prolific serial arsonist in American history.