Church Arsonist Indicted on 29 Counts
Thomas C. Hinkle
Chief Investigator
Indiana State Fire Marshal`s Office
Jay Scott Ballinger, charged with 12 counts of arson and one count of conspiracy to commit arson in the state of Indiana, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for setting 29 church fires in eight states.
In February of this year, a tip from an astute police officer enabled two arson investigators from the Indiana State Fire Marshal`s Office (ISFMO) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to apprehend and charge three individuals with seven fires in places of worship in Indiana. Among those charged was Ballinger, who astounded members of the interview team from the Indiana State Fire Marshal`s Investigation Division and the ATF by admitting to setting as many as 50 fires at places of worship across the United States within a 10-year period. A Georgia firefighter was killed while suppressing one of these fires in his state.
Teamwork has proven to be one of the most important underlying forces behind this success in apprehending these individuals. In 1997, the Indiana State Fire Marshal`s Arson Division began noticing an increase in fires in places of worship across the state. According to federal authorities, Indiana was rated significantly above most states in the number of fire incidents involving places of worship.
The Division established a simple database of the names of the places of worship; the dates, times, and locations of the fires; the types of the places of worship; and the estimated dollar loss from the fires. This database was shared with authorities from the local ATF office.
Meanwhile, many federal, state, and local authorities in Indiana were independently working on tasks and establishing goals aimed at curtailing the number of fires occurring at places of worship. Since some of the tasks and goals were overlapping, the agencies–the ATF, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Attorney General`s Office, and the Indiana State Fire Marshal`s Investigation Division–joined together to address the problem. The Division has been serving as the center for collecting data and notifying all the agencies involved.
One component of the program was to distribute fire prevention education materials to places of worship. Division investigators created some of the materials; others were acquired from the National Arson Clearinghouse. Fire Marshal Tracy Boatwright worked with the local fire departments in establishing coalitions in their communities. The departments were encouraged to work with local pastoral organizations in presenting a two-hour presentation to members of the local places of worship. The project provided meaningful interaction and broke down any barriers that may have existed between the fire service, law enforcement, and the public.
All the agencies involved have worked very closely to realize the goal of stopping those responsible for burning places of worship not only in Indiana but across the nation. Despite the progress made, however, much work remains. Investigators must remain vigilant. We must work to solve as many of the incidents as possible and to prevent repeat occurrences. Prevention activities should continue, and all agencies must stay involved. Public fire education programs for places of worship should be maintained and presented often.
Recently, Indiana lawmakers, assisting with the prevention methods, passed legislation that will stiffen the criminal penalty for a fire or burglary at a place of worship.
This break in apprehending Ballinger was truly a reward for those who have worked so hard to decrease the number of fires set in our nation`s places of worship.
