Opinion ID: 202981
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Origin and Development of the Fire

Text: At trial, the state's theory was that the fire at the Dugas Superette had been lit by Dugas a few minutes after 10 p.m. and that by 10:44 p.m. it had grown hot enough to short circuit the wires powering an electric clock in the store. The state's experts concluded that the fire had begun quickly, generating substantial heat and smoke, but that, lacking an oxygen source, the fire had been reduced to a smolder when firefighters arrived just before midnight. Both Higgins and the state appear to agree that if the fire had had a source of oxygen and had begun at roughly 10 p.m., it would have consumed the entire store before the firefighters arrived. The state explained that the entire store was not engulfed because of the lack of ventilation in the basement. In his affidavits, Higgins asserted that there was, in fact, a source of oxygen for the fire. He theorized that the fire was actively burning and growing when the firefighters arrived, but that the basement was too dark and the smoke too thick for the firefighters to properly assess this fact. Therefore, he contended, the fire must have started much later than the state argued at trial, and long after Dugas had left the building. [5] To support his theory, Higgins asserted that the basement door was partially open during the fire. The door to the basement at the Dugas Superette has two halves split vertically, each about eighteen inches wide, which may be opened independently. Higgins contended that the physical evidence shows that the right side of the door was open during the fire. The left side of the doorjamb is clean, indicating that it was closed and therefore protected from the smoke and heat, while the right side of the jamb is stained. He also pointed to a piece of melted plastic adhered to the basement side of the right door as evidence that it was open during the fire, allowing the plastic to melt onto it. Wood, the state's fire investigator, asserted at the evidentiary hearing that the physical evidence shows that both sides of the door were closed when firefighters arrived. He explained the staining on the right side of the doorjamb by noting that one side of the door was propped open by firefighters' hoses after they began to battle the fire, allowing smoke, heat, and soot to stain the jamb on that side. Additionally, he noted that the melted plastic banner extended across both sides of the door, indicating that the door was fully closed when the banner first melted. Higgins's ventilation theory rests on his contention that the basement door was open, acting as a chimney and allowing fresh air to be drawn in through a basement vent. As the district court noted, this theory directly contradicts the testimony of Lieutenant Keith Anderson of the Nashua Fire Department, who asserted at trial that the door to the basement was closed when he arrived and that the smoke and heat conditions worsened as soon as the basement door was opened. To counter this testimony, Higgins speculated that the firefighters did not realize that the door had two halves and that one half was already opened when they arrived. The district court found that Higgins's speculation would be unlikely to persuade the jury to discredit Anderson's clear and specific testimony that the door was closed when firefighters arrived, and found Wood's explanations for the staining on the doorjamb and the position of the banner more persuasive. As a result, the court found that Higgins's [ventilation] theory is not supported by the facts and is otherwise not credible. There is no clear error in this finding.