Arson Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ

In Phoenix, the first judgment about a suspicious fire usually comes from the Fire Department, not the police. The Phoenix Regional standard operating procedure on fire cause investigations gives the department's Investigations Section the job of determining where and how a fire began and identifying the factors or people responsible. The same section refers arson cases to the City or County Attorney's Office for prosecution. Its investigators are trained and certified as specialty peace officers with limited authority to investigate arson crimes, and they can be reached through dispatch at any hour.

Not every fire brings an investigator. The procedure sends one to fire deaths and serious injuries, attempted arsons, working greater alarm structure fires, explosions, fires whose cause the incident commander cannot determine on scene, and fires at schools, government buildings or places of worship. A vehicle, field or dumpster fire generally draws an investigator only when a suspect is already in custody, or when Phoenix Police ask for help on a known arson. So a small fire may draw an investigator only after someone has been detained, while a large one can begin with no suspect at all.

Once arson is the cause, the police take over the follow-up. The procedure puts Phoenix Police in charge of the follow-up investigation of every fire where arson is the cause, calls for a joint fire and police investigation when someone died or suffered a life-threatening injury, and describes a Fire Investigations Task Force made up of fire captains, some of them certified through Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training, working beside Phoenix Police detectives.

The scene belongs to the investigators for a while. After the fire is under control, command hands jurisdiction of the area to the investigator, who keeps it until releasing it, and the procedure allows the department to close the scene entirely, even to the property owner, so that the chain of custody can be shown later. The section can call on an Ignitable Liquid Detection K-9 that works with a fire investigator as its handler. Debris samples go in sealed metal cans or glass mason jars to the Phoenix Police Crime Laboratory, whose trace and fire debris analysts use gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to look for ignitable liquid residue. The laboratory reports accreditation under ISO/IEC 17025. A residue finding speaks to what was in the debris; it does not by itself establish who started the fire, or whether anyone did so knowingly.

The charge itself turns on mental state. Under A.R.S. § 13-1703, the State must prove that a person knowingly caused a fire or explosion and, by doing so, knowingly and unlawfully damaged a structure or property. Other sections define structure and damage and set out the separate charges of arson of an occupied structure and reckless burning; the statewide arson page explains them.

Value and the kind of property decide where a § 13-1703 case goes. Arson of property worth $100 or less is a class 1 misdemeanor under § 13-1703(B), and a misdemeanor from inside Phoenix generally goes to the Office of the Phoenix City Prosecutor and Phoenix Municipal Court, 300 W. Washington St. Arson of a structure, or of property worth more than $100, is a felony, usually prosecuted by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in Superior Court downtown; the city court lists felonies among the cases it does not take. A person booked on a felony fire charge sees a judge at the county's Intake, Transfer and Release facility, 2670 S. 28th Dr., inside the 24 hours set by Rule 4.1 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure.

An arson charge can also be alleged as a dangerous offense. A person sentenced as a dangerous offender under A.R.S. § 13-704 receives a prison term and is not eligible for probation, so a dangerous allegation deserves its own early review of the evidence.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A felony fire conviction can show up on background checks for jobs, apartments and professional licenses. Under § 13-603 the court must order restitution for the full economic loss, and in a fire case that number can be large. The criminal case and any insurance claim about the same fire can affect each other, and a noncitizen should get immigration advice before any plea.

The scene. Investigators work after the fire is controlled but before contents are hauled away and overhaul begins, and you may be kept out of your own property while they do. If the case may turn on cause and origin, an independent fire investigator can sometimes document the scene before it is cleared or rebuilt, so the timing of a call to a lawyer matters.

The interview. A Phoenix fire investigator asking questions may be acting as a peace officer in an arson investigation, not only as a safety official. Statements about where you were, what was stored where and what you noticed become evidence. You can decline to answer and ask that questions go through your lawyer.

The laboratory. Debris results, K-9 alerts, photographs, video, phone location data and purchase records are typical pieces of an arson case. We review the investigator's methods and what was ruled out, including wiring, appliances, heating equipment, cooking, smoking materials, vehicles and weather, and when the case calls for it we work with an independent fire investigator.

The referral. A misdemeanor goes to the City Prosecutor, and the court's guide says the arraignment date is the one on the citation or the summons. A felony is sent to MCAO for a charging decision, and a charged case proceeds by indictment or by direct complaint and preliminary hearing. Before that decision, information about cause, timing or another explanation can sometimes reach the prosecutor.

Superior Court. Felony fire cases go to one of two downtown buildings, the South Court Tower on Madison Street or the Central Court Building on Jefferson Street, so check which one your current notice names. Disclosure is where the investigator's notes, the laboratory work and any recorded statements arrive, and where they can first be tested.

Restitution. If there is a conviction, the court sets the loss. Repair estimates, contents lists and insurance payments can all shape that figure, and how it is calculated is often worth contesting.

Nova Law Group was built by Ryan Tait, a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. The practice is criminal defense first. We keep caseloads deliberately low, which means the lawyers on your case have time to actually watch the video and read the reports line by line. We take arson cases to trial when trial is the right pressure. Overcharging happens, and a case that is genuinely prepared for trial changes the conversation with the prosecutor. Most criminal cases are quoted as a flat fee. Consultations are free and confidential.

Office: 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Meetings are by appointment.