Car fires plague neighborhoods

HOUSTON – Channel 2 Investigates reviewed five years worth of arson records to pinpoint which parts of the city were seeing the most vehicle fires. What emerged was that certain parts of the city are being used as a dumping ground for a crime that is exceedingly difficult to solve.

A rural area of southeast Houston off Fuqua, north of Beltway 8 saw 19 vehicle fires in the past five years; the most of any spot in the city. While the area is somewhat secluded, it is home to several businesses and an HISD agricultural barn.

"It's dangerous, if you leave a car on fire it could set other properties on fire; our animals lives are at risk," said Karina Escobedo.

Escobedo recently graduated from HISD, but still comes to the barn twice a day to help her brother care for their cow. Escobedo said someone even left a burning car in the barn's driveway.

A few blocks down from that barn is a dirt path was littered with charred car parts. We found everything from gas caps, to brake lights to a bumper.

"It's life concerning," said Escobedo. "People just come dump things here and don't realize the damage that they are making."

The second highest spot in the city for vehicle fires is in a neighborhood near the spot where I-10 and the Eastex intersect close to downtown. Thirteen vehicle fires were reported in this area since 2011. Another car fire happened in this area on Thursday. Police found a body inside of a burning SUV on Noble near Maury.

In all, there have been 1,291 vehicle intentionally set on fire in Houston over the last five years. Arson records show investigators respond to an average of 1,110 fires a year. One-third of those fires involve vehicles and 80 percent of vehicle fires are ruled arson.

"Some of those vehicles are associated with other crimes, with violent crimes," said Executive Asst. Chief Cynthia Vargas, head of HFD's arson bureau.

One example of that was a serial arsonist who set a car on fire an apartment complex on South Gessner in 2011. Flames spread to the nearby units and caused $1 million in damage. Arson records read investigators saw the suspected firebug "jump to his death" from a freeway overpass after setting a different fire.

Vargas said solving any arson case is difficult. When it comes to vehicle fires, only an average of 10 percent are solved.

"If you set a car on fire as a criminal act there's a pretty good chance you'll get away with it," said Channel 2 Investigator Robert Arnold.

"Absolutely we're concerned, we have a gap," said Vargas.

Vargas said arson investigations are unique in the world of crime solving. In many cases the fire, and the act of extinguishing the fire, destroys much of the evidence.

"There are times when we literally have pieces," said Vargas.

Vargas said finding witnesses can also be difficult since many vehicle fires are set in secluded spots.

"It's been difficult to get the public to provide us with information, people don't always want to get involved," said Vargas.

However, Vargas said the number of car fires has slowly crept up over the years, presenting a challenge for the investigators in her bureau.

"I'm looking at a very gradual increase, so much so that if you're not looking at statistics over time you won't notice it," said Vargas. "It is a very gradual increase that can get away from you if you don't watch it."

Vargas said limited resources and the labor intensive work of investigating intentionally set fires is a struggle. Some fire scenes can take anywhere from hours to days to process depending on the damage and scope.

"It's a balancing act," said Vargas.

Vargas said she has 50 "boots on the ground:" investigators tasked with handling an average of more than 1,100 fires a year. The bureau has an additional 10 people in the internal affairs division and another 10 spread between the lab and supervisory positions. The "balancing act" comes from investigating car fires while investigating structure fires that pose a more immediate threat to life.

"You came to us at a time when we don't have an answer yet, but we're actively seeking to come up with a solution," said Vargas.

"Do you think there is a solution to this?" said Arnold.

"I sure hope so," said Vargas.

Vargas said she is working on putting together a multidepartment task force to address vehicle fires and exploring whether new technology can help make the investigative process more efficient. In the immediate she is asking for saturation patrols in the area seeing the most vehicle fires to try to bring the numbers down.


About the Authors:

Award winning investigative journalist who joined KPRC 2 in July 2000. Husband and father of the Master of Disaster and Chaos Gremlin. “I don’t drink coffee to wake up, I wake up to drink coffee.”