Arson feared as insurers duck Katrina flood cover
September 19, 2005 Edition 1
As floodwaters drain from battered New Orleans, firefighters fear many residents will set fire to their ruined homes to cash in on insurance policies that do not cover flood damage.
At least two suspicious fires at unoccupied houses had been doused on Saturday, a New Orleans Fire Department official said, and firefighters were on the lookout for more.
Deputy fire chief Joseph Buras said that without an investigation, neither fire could be confirmed as arson, but it was difficult to explain how the fires had started in areas without electricity and where virtually no residents were present.
"I would think it's suspicious. (Arson) is always a consideration," Buras said.
Many owners could receive little compensation for their water-damaged homes, because insurers have argued that the destruction from the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina that broke levees in New Orleans and swept across the Gulf coast was not covered under most policies.
New Orleans acting fire chief Wesley Thibodeaux was worried that there could be more and more fires at wood-frame houses prevalent in the city.
"It's going to be an ongoing problem," he said.
Fighting the fires had been made easier by the return of water pressure. - Reuters
