4. Smoke Signals and Arson

As the Mt. Carmel Center burned, a thick and dense column of back smoke rose over the ruins, hundreds of feet in the air. (Photo, Waco Tribune-Herald, Apr 20, 1993, "BLACK MONDAY: More than 80 feared dead in compound blaze", archived.)

Four things raise suspicions about the Mt. Carmel fire.

The spectacular fireball, more than a hundred feet high
The height of the flames, at times greater than twice the height of the four-story tower
The inky quality of the smoke
The rapid destruction of the entire complex

The table below contains photos of fires published on the World Wide Web. The first column contains news photographs of the Mt. Carmel fire. The second contains news photographs of petroleum fires. The third contains news photographs of ordinary house fires. All are from accredited sources. Comparing those images and others can be informative.

The flames from from house fires (in daylight) do not greatly excede the height of the building. The smoke ranges from light gray to dark brown. Petroleum smoke is more voluminous and thicker, an opaque, inky black plume.

Photos of the Mt. Carmel Center fire show a huge fireball, tall leaping flames, and thick, voluminous, inky black smoke. None of that is consistent with a burning residential wooden building. As the fire burned down, the smoke became less black and more the gray/brown of a normal house fire.

Worth noting, though some of the officials were experts on arson, and some of the news media commentators had extensive experience with disasters of various types, none commented on these odd qualities of the Mt. Carmel fire. Only hundreds of gallons of petroleum would produce that huge column of thick, black smoke that arose from the flames.

Hidden in obscure references, these odd characteristics may have been the result of the FBI rupturing four 500 gallon tanks of diesel fuel in the Mt. Carmel courtyard on March 18.

March 18 … At 6:21 p.m., after Schneider was warned in advance by negotiators, the HRT used the armored vehicles to remove the compound's diesel and gasoline storage tanks. (Source: Dept. of Justice, pg. 73)

"Removing" a 500 gallon tank of diesel fuel weighing as much 4,000 lbs. is not practical, of course, particularly with "armored vehicles." A contemporaneous account in the Austin American-Statesman reveals that the storage tanks were deliberately destroyed, not "removed."

1993
New Mount Carmel Center reached the height of its media notoriety during the 7-week standoff between Branch Davidians and the FBI in spring of 1993. Following the April 19, 1993 fire, after authorities had finished canvasing the scene, what little that remained of Mount Carmel was bulldozed. The desolate patch of dusty gravel that was left behind became a macabre tourist attraction, drawing a reported 2,500 visitors over the July 4th holiday. The following weekend, county officials closed the road leading up to the compound. By August, health officials concerned about rotting food and human waste had quarantined the site, fencing off the entire area, which was also said to be contaminated with lead from ammunition that had melted during the fire. The soil had also been soaked with 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel, which was spilled when agents ruptured 500-gallon tanks to deprive the Branch Davidians of their generators. (Source: House Beautiful, April 19, 2023, "The Bizarre History of the Branch Davidian Headquarters in Waco, Texas", cached, citing Austin American-Statesman, March 19, 1993, emphasis added. That House Beautiful text was republished verbatim by Yahoo!Life, April 19, 2023, "The Horrifying True Story Behind the Waco Cult Compound", cached)

And the purpose for that destruction? Saturating the property with diesel fuel may have been preparation for incinerating the building and the bodies therein. When incendiary cartridges are fired into a building swimming in a 2,000 gallon lake of diesel fuel, what might be the result?

The Dept. of Justice has been less than forthright about that piece of the history. Even the newspaper archiving service has clammed up.

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House Fires vs. Petroleum Fires

Click on an image to see it full size.

A Mt. Carmel fire	B Petroleum fires	C House fires
. "Survivors of 1993 Waco siege describe what happened in fire that ended the 51-day standoff." ABC News, Jan 3, 2018	. "Fears Ramp Up As Oil Rolls into Albany." EarthJustice, Feb 14, 2014	. "Merr flakë shtëpia në Laprakë, pronari djeg dorën (House caught fire in Lapraka, owner burns hand)." Dosja.al, August 9, 2021
. "Flashback: Waco Cult Showdown Ends in Disaster." Rolling Stone, Jan 4, 2018	. "North Dakota oil train derailment, town evacuation restart rail safety debate in Minnesota." Minnesota Star Tribune, May 07, 2015	. "Family escapes Georgetown Township house fire." WZZM13, July 23, 2016
. "Black Monday: More than 80 feared dead in compound blaze." Waco Tribune-Herald, Apr 20, 1993	. "Railway Investigation R15H0021: Derailment and fire of second Canadian National crude oil train near Gogama, Ontario." Transportation Safety Board, March 7, 2015	. "Dog dies in Hillsborough house fire." My Central Jersey, Apr 6, 2017
. "Survivors of 1993 Waco siege describe what happened in fire that ended the 51-day standoff." ABC News, Jan 3, 2018	. "NOAA researchers release study on emissions from BP/Deepwater Horizon controlled burns." National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, Sep 20, 2011	. "Smoke visible a mile away from 2-alarm Martic Township house fire." Lancaster Online, Feb 20, 2018
. "What Really Happened at Waco." CBS News, Jan 25, 2000	. "Towering Infernos — The Kuwait Oil Fires." Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training	. "Avalon House Fires March 17 early stages." Avalon Borough, March 17, 2018
. "Waco siege\|History, Leader, and Facts." Britannica	. "ISIS In Africa: After Islamic State Attack, Libya's National Oil Company Issues 'Cry For Help.'" International Business Times, Feb 2, 2018	. "Nearly 1 of 4 people who died in January house fires were 65 or older." Your Valley, Feb 2, 2018
. "10 Things You May Not Know About Waco." PBS, Feb 28, 2018	. "Notes from a Small Planet: War as an Environmental Plague." Jewish Currents, 2018	. "House Fire Damage Cause and Prevention." Gregory Restoration, June 17, 2014
. "Waco and Ruby Ridge: the 1990s standoffs haunting the Oregon takeover, explained." Vox, Jan 5, 2016	. "Two-Year Anniversary of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill." ABC News, (undated) 2012	. "Adjusting Residential House Fires." International Risk Management Institute, Inc.
. "25 years later, a look back at the Waco siege and Branch Davidians," Houston Chronicle, Jan 10, 2018	. "Evacuation put in place after train derails near Galena, Illinois." WQAD, Mar 5, 2015	. "Jogger alerts resident to McHenry house fire; home left uninhabitable." Northwest Herald, Aug. 17, 2017