By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper and Fire Chief Steve Beer coordinate their expertise when looking at arson cases in the city.
"Between our fire marshal's office and their detectives, we have a great relationship," Beer said. "We rely on each other. They work the scenes together. Just looking at last year's number out of the fires, I think we had roughly 15 arson fires in town last year."
That's down from having about half of all fires in Hutchinson be arson cases when Beer arrived in 2017.
"Previously, this agency some time ago had a detective that was specially trained in arsons," Hooper said. "That person has since retired and I was looking at maybe getting one of our officers trained to do that, but I haven't really felt the need or the urgency, just because of that great relationship we have."
Each side deals with their specialty.
"The fire marshals, they know fire," Hooper said. "We rely on their expertise to collect the evidence, to examine that fire, to spread that knowledge on to my detectives. My detectives know police work and investigations and how to interrogate or interview suspects and witnesses. They can sit down in a room together and his fire marshals bring the fire expertise and my detectives bring that interviewing technique to the table. Working those investigations jointly I think brings everybody's strengths to the table and gives us the best chance of solving those cases and prosecuting them."
Beer made it clear that it remains a priority for the Hutchinson Fire Department to prosecute every arson case to the fullest extent of the law.
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