Experts battle over origin, cause of fatal 2022 fire

WATERLOO — The final witnesses in the trial of a Denver man accused of killing his friend in a 2022 house fire are arguing how and where the fatal blaze started.

John Walter Spooner, 61, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tony Grider, 60, who was pronounced dead after firefighters found him unconscious on the bedroom floor of his East Second Street home on Aug. 19, 2022.

Grider had burns over 30% of his body and a lethal concentration of carbon monoxide in his system.

Witnesses said Spooner, who had been living with Grider, was seen flicking a lighter, carrying a gasoline can, muttering something about a fire and meandering up to the house minutes before flames were seen.

Fire Marshal Brock Weliver testified on Monday that he determined the fire started with gasoline on the front porch and then spread into the house. Chemical testing found traces of gas on samples taken from the porch decking.

Weliver said he initially considered that the fire started in the living room but ruled it out, in part because damage to the porch was more extensive and other indicators also pointed to the porch.

Also taking the stand on Monday was Douglas Carpenter, a forensic fire investigator, hired by the defense to review the fire.

Carpenter told swears he concluded the fire started in the front corner of the living room and smoldered for some time with limited oxygen. The heat eventually burst the windows, and the flames took off with an influx of air and spread to the porch.

He thought the fire likely started with an errant cigarette butt or an overheated extension cord or outlet that ignited the sleeper sofa. He showed swearers a jumble of melted wires that had been an extension cord and a rope light he found under and behind the couch – items fire officials hadn’t noticed.

Carpenter said the indoor scenario also provides a better account for Grider’s high carbon monoxide levels, which exceeded 50%.

“An under-ventilated (room) is where you would start to see a huge increase in production of CO (carbon monoxide),” Carpenter said.

Weliver discounted the living room theory.

“The window is going to vent out naturally out the top side. It’s got to make a couple of real hard 90 degree turns to get onto that front porch, and up against the wind,” Weliver said.

He said there was also a considerable amount of polyurethane foam cushions left on the wood-frame sofa.

Photos: House Fire, East 2nd St., Aug. 19, 2022

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