Fire Raisers, Freaks and Fiends: Obsessive Arsonists in the California Foothills

An award winning arson investigator brings you over thirty cases from his own files and those of his colleagues. These true case histories cover the entire spectrum of arson crimes from the hapless goof to the most evil and obsessive fiends of them all. Among this collection are the erratic street denizens who are the serial arsonists. This group wanders your streets at night igniting anything that strikes their fancy. A more dangerous and dedicated group is the “mission men” who are trying to set a fire or explosion of cataclysmic proportions, with deadly intentions. The most colorful and odd group in this book has been labeled “whackjobs, weirdos and wannabes”. This group consists of phonies masquerading as firefighters, cops, secret agents and others. The chapter on “mad men” shows how much a man’s hate will drive him until all rational thought goes out the window. The author, Ed Nordskog has been a police detective for over 23 years and a specialist in arson and bomb investigations for the past 17 years. His beat is the sprawling Los Angeles basin with its over nine million citizens. His case histories in this book are a mere sampling of his 1,700 arson investigations. He has arrested and sat face to face in cramped interview rooms with over 300 arsonists and bombers. Some of these people are also rapists, murderers, gang members, devil worshipers, child molesters, and child murderers. Nordskog’s first book, “Torchered Minds-Case histories of notorious serial arsonists”, has been widely accepted and lauded in the arson investigation field. This exhaustive study focused on over 60 case histories of the more famous serial arson investigations. Nordskog’s current book goes into much more depth to chronicle the various subtypes of the more dangerous arsonists he’s come across. He shows obsessive-compulsive stalkers and rapists. He meets and speaks with several dangerous paranoid-schizophrenics who have voices within their heads telling them to burn and kill. He highlights a few suspects who went out on a fiery mission with very little expectation to survive the day, and with the stated goal of taking as many victims with them as possible. He introduces you to people who maim, torture and kill helpless animals and family pets with poison and fire. Lastly, Nordskog introduces true crime readers to the shadowy world of arson investigation and to the investigators themselves. The cases in this book are weirder or more bizarre than can be dreamt up by a Hollywood screenwriter. They are all also 100% true. These cases cover an area from the Los Angeles basin, through the desert region and along the foothills and forests that run up and down the entire state of California. Det. Ed Nordskog has been and arson/bomb investigator, undercover narcotics detective, and a detective working burglaries, robberies, auto theft and other major crimes. He has a Master’s Degree and has received over 85 awards for his investigative work to include “Law Enforcement Officer of the Year” and “International Arson Investigator of the Year”. He continues to work as an arson/bomb investigator for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. He is an active lecturer and instructor in this field for the State of California, the California Conference of Arson Investigators and the International Association of Arson Investigators.