Criminal charges relating to structure fires tend to be rare and randomly scattered throughout the country. On Sept. 25, 2001, a training fire in Lairdsville, N.Y., resulted in the conviction by a jury of a deputy chief who set a sofa on fire on the first floor of a burn structure, which burned out of control and trapped several people on the second floor, ultimately killing one and injuring two more. The deputy chief was sentenced to serve 75 days in jail, five years probation, perform 100 hours of community service, and was barred from the fire service for five years.

A much more recent fire about which there has been a great deal of discussion of potential criminal charges is the Sofa Super Store fire that occurred on June 18, 2007, in Charleston, S.C. A fire in a furniture store resulted in the deaths of nine firefighters. An investigation by a city-appointed panel found that there had been command failures and an unstructured and uncoordinated response. The Ninth Circuit solicitor, who has criminal jurisdiction over the matter, has stated that she is awaiting receipt of a report prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as a second report from the State Law Enforcement Division, before making a final decision regarding criminal prosecution.