KEVINO’CONNOR
Fire Chief
House Bill 185 Proponent Testimony
Fire Chief Kevin O’Connor on behalf of the City of Columbus – Division of Fire
Ohio Senate Criminal Justice Committee
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Chairman Eklund, Vice Chair Hughes, Ranking Member Thomas, and members of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony concerning the proposed language changes to the arson statutes. My name is Kevin O’Connor and I am the Fire Chief for the City of Columbus – Division of Fire, the country’s 11th largest fire department with more than 1,500 firefighters. The Division of Fire includes a Fire & Bomb Investigation Unit, which not only serves the citizens of Columbus, but assists the neighboring cities as well. This Unit was responsible for investigating more than 800 fire related incidents in 2015. To put that into context – the State Fire Marshal’s Investigation Unit investigated 1,100 fires for the entire state in the same year– so it is easy to see how important H.B. 185 is to the City of Columbus and the state of Ohio.
The current language of Ohio Revised Code Section 2909 has been prohibitive in the City of Columbus – Division of Fire’s efforts to prosecute arsonists. The modification of this statute, as proposed, will aide in our efforts to stop fire setting behaviors, not only in Columbus, but across the state of Ohio.
Currently, when a fire occurs in an unoccupied structure the offender is to be charged with Arson under ORC 2909.03, as opposed to ORC 2909.02 - Aggravated Arson when a house is occupied.
Under the current arson statute (ORC 2909.03), a suspect cannot be charged with arson if evidence cannot be obtained that will show that the property owner did not give consent to the suspect to burn the structure. In the case of unoccupied structures, this creates a difficult situation. In many instances, our fire investigators cannot find the owners of these structures, and thus have difficulty collecting evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the owner did not give "consent" to the suspect. In many cases, the property owners of record do not reside in the city of Columbus or even the state of Ohio. Further, determination of the owner of such properties is often uncertain due to financial foreclosure, held in a company name or trust, or other legal processes.
As proposed, House Bill 185 eliminates the lack of the property owner's consent as an element of arson in the case of unoccupied structures, and makes the owner's consent an affirmative defense. The burden of proof shifts to the defendant, once the prosecutor has proven that the structure is unoccupied.
The proposed changes to the language in the Ohio Revised Code Arson statute will prove to be beneficial, not only to the Columbus Division of Fire, but alsoto the fire service and law enforcement agencies across the state who strive within our justice system to keep our communities safe. Your support of this bill is greatly appreciated.
Chairman Eklund, thank you again for giving me the opportunity to provide testimony on HB 185 today. I would be happy to answer any questions that members of the committee may have at this time.
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