John Orr

John Leanord Orr is a real-life illustration of dual personality disorder. As a former fire captain and famous arson investigator in LA, Orr unfortunately fell to the dark side, possessed by the satisfaction of dancing flames. During his time as a firefighter, he was also a serial arsonist responsible for deadly fires and murders throughout the 80’s. Orr's role as an arson investigator and firefighter initially shielded him from becoming a suspect, but in 1991, a fire he started led investigators to his fingerprints on a time delay device, a cigarette wrapped in yellow paper. Coincidentally, John was also writing a book about a firefighter arsonist, called Points of Origin. It intensely describes Orr's situation, with a lot of similarities between him and the character. This puzzled investigators, but with this strange clue, they dove deeper into the case. Suspicious behavior and pieces of evidence like the fingerprints led to Orr’s arrest in 1992. He was charged with arson and murder and once he was detained, arson rates drastically decreased by 90%, displaying just how many fires John had set, which was over two thousand. News of Orr's arrest had shocked the firefighter community, as he was a well-known fire captain and investigator among them. In 1998, he was convicted again and received a life sentence without parole, highlighting the disturbing case of a firefighter turned arsonist. The FBI described him as "the most prolific American arsonist of the 20th century."