Killer Nashville Arson

Some of the most valuable things I learned from the arson presentation was the pattern a fire creates. One of the things that the TBI gentleman said was that many times people think that if they start a fire that all of the evidence of a crime will be destroyed. He said many times that there is always evidence. The fire never ruins the crime. There will always be something left. Also mentioned were that if someone is in his/her bed and there is something like lighter fluid or gasoline involved, many times the arson is motivated by love/sex/marriage relationships.

I see many, many possible plot twists that could be used from this new piece of information. One other thing that was mentioned was that it is not illegal to burn down one's own home in the state of Tennessee as long as no third party is involved in the aftermath of the fire. So, if there are no mortgage consequences, deaths, insurance involvement etc., someone is free to burn his or her house down in this state.

Also, apparently, it is not illegal to burn your own meth lab down as long as there is no third party involvement in the aftermath/consequences of the fire!

There are all plot twists I hadn't considered. Now I'm wondering if those same two things are legal in Iowa. How do I go about finding the answer to this question. Any time I try to research such things, people think I'm out to get somebody. Fiction can be more fun than reality. In the case of fire, that is my opinion.

The day after I attended the arson presentation, there was a local news story in the Nashville area in which a lady had a house fire. She had sprayed some bug spray on an insect on her wall. The bug was near an electrical outlet, causing a fire. Of all the things! I think if I were to put something like that in fiction, it wouldn't be believable. Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes.