An immense fireball erupted over the ruins of the Mt. Carmel Center.  Time, May 3, 1993. Click to enlarge image.

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. —John Adams

Look at that fireball, several times the height of the four-story tower.  Some apologists claim that it was caused by the propane tank exploding, but that explanation does not suffice.  No propane had been delivered to Mt. Carmel since before February 28, the initial assault.  The weather had been cool and if they had been alive, the Davidians would have used the supply for cooking and heating.

All sources agree that the blaze blew through the structure with terrifying speed.  When the firemen were finally allowed to approach the building to save who they might, nothing was left but a field of ashes.  Within 45 minutes, the entire structure had been reduced to ashes and dust—much faster than a normal house fire could consume the timbers, posts, and joists of a multi-story building.

Witnesses [were] stunned, horrified by fire's speed and intensity (Source: The Dallas Morning News, April 20, 1993)

The flames shot so high and burned so hot that it looked and felt like the apocalypse. (Source: Toronto Sun, April 15, 2023, cached)

At times, the flames leaped to twice the height of the four-story tower — at least 65 feet in the air, pouring a thick column of inky black smoke into the sky. Consider Figures F3-1 and F3-2. That fury is not the likely result of a bale of hay and a few cans of lantern fuel.

So the endless chorus of predictions fit perfectly with the events, and the FBI's prophecy of mass suicide was fulfilled. Given the Davidian belief in the Apocalypse and the prediction of a fiery end, it did not strain public credulity to accuse the Davidians of setting the fire themselves. The Davidians were just another crazy, cock-eyed cult diving into oblivion.

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But the photographic record of the fire on April 19, 1993 is a fact about the Waco Holocaust beyond reasonable doubt. Multiple aspects are highly suspicious, but these testify against the government:

• No fire trucks moved in to quench the inferno.
• No rescue stations were standing by to handle the survivors, who might be choked with tear gas and smoke and badly burned. That blooper in the production revealed that no survivors were expected.

And one more thing, as Columbo would say:

• Though dozens allegedly died in the fire and the government blamed the Davidians for starting it, no Davidians were charged with homicidal arson. Nor were they charged with shooting other Davidians, despite the murderous accusations.

Deny, Deny, Deny

Though it did not charge anyone with the arson, the Dept. of Justice took great pains to fortify its accusations of the Davidians. The accusations are so thick, the reader might wonder if the government "doth protest too much."

The arson team also discussed the efforts of the arson detection dog. The dog alerted to the presence of chemical accelerants at numerous points throughout the compound, including at the three points of origin. The dog was also exposed to various items of clothing taken from the survivors of the fire, and the dog alerted to the presence of chemical accelerants on several pieces of that clothing.

The team submitted 100 samples of fire debris and clothing to which the dog had alerted to a laboratory for chemical analysis. The laboratory items consisted of various items of clothing taken from the survivors, as well as debris recovered from the remains of the compound. The laboratory tests found kerosene on Misty Ferguson's shoes; camp stove fuel on Clive Doyle's shoes; camp stove fuel and kerosene on Derek Lovelock's clothing and shoes; kerosene and gasoline on Graeme Craddock's left shoe; and camp stove fuel on Jaime castillo's shoes. From the other items of debris found in the fire the laboratory tests determined the presence of gasoline, charcoal lighter fluid, kerosene, and a heavy petroleum distillate. (Source: Dept. of Justice, pg. 333; emphasis added)

Now there would be a sight. Imagine a team of super-sleuths and an "arson detection dog" wading through a pile of ashes soaked in diesel fuel, searching for the faint scents of petroleum accelerants — and finding kerosene (unrefined diesel fuel) on some of the shoes.

What Are the Implications?

The evidence indicates that many of the Davidians died long before the CS attack and fire on April 19.  That evidence will be covered at length in the Death Gallery.

The fire and CS gas attack were a cover, a (semi-) plausible explanation for the Davidian deaths.  In the War Gallery exhibit, "Trojan Horses and Branch Davidians," we learned that some of those living at the Mt. Carmel Center we not followers of David Koresh, but former members of the sect who were working as government agents (Source: Treasury Report, pg. 92). We also learned that a month before the raid, government agents within the Mt. Carmel Center replaced normal telephones with converted sets that doubled as microphones to relay all conversations to government listening posts, and fiber optic microphones and cameras were inserted into walls and air vents, which relayed audio and visual images back to a control center (London Sunday Times of March 21, 1993).

Those agents (Trojan Horses/fake Davidians) were probably extracted before the gassing and fire on April 19, which would explain why they had no serious injuries from those events.

That hypothesis would also explain the contradictory and discrediting stories about Davidian behavior that morning—stories about the menfolk abandoning the mothers and children and running out the back of the complex to save their own skins. Or a story that boggles the imagination—Davidian Graeme Craddock hiding in an outbuilding in the courtyard for three hours during the fire.

Graeme Craddock was the last survivor to leave the compound. At approximately 3:10 p.m., three hours after the fire had started, Craddock emerged from a concrete room adjacent to the water tower. Craddock was wearing green camouflage pants, and a black shirt with the words "David Koresh God Rocks." (Source: Dept. of Justice, pg. 298)