Bushwick fires

By joseph velazquez

• • The FHA Mortgage Scandal: The largest single cause of arson, It's estimated that as many as 500 buildings were abandoned due to the FHA mortgage scandal.

• • Landlords: Fires were set by landlords who were tired of trying to evict tenants, or to make money off of insurance that they could not make from.

• • Tenant Arson: Some poorer tenants took advantage of Welfare regulations which gave preference to those that had been burned out of their homes.

• • Vandals: Fires were set by vandals to get at copper pipes. Firefighters made their job much easier when they would knocked out the walls.

• • Squatters: In the winter, abandoned houses were often taken over by heroin users, who were not careful with the fires used to cook their drugs.

• • Youth: During the summer, it was idle youth whose pastime was burning up cars and houses.

• • Vengeance fires: Quantitatively a small percentage of fires, but the most tragic. As fires became a part of the culture of Bushwick, residents used them to serve their short term emotional needs. Many fires were started by jealous lovers, rivals, or just out of plain spite.