Man Sentenced in Blast That Injured Calif. Firefighters

They came to see the man who nearly killed four of their own pay his price in prison time, but they also reserved a measure of outrage for a disgruntled rental property owner who filed a lawsuit against them for the way they did their job.

Robert William Durst received a 17-year prison term at his sentencing Tuesday for causing the July 5, 2010, explosion that sent four firefighters to a hospital, three with serious injuries that burned the skin off their faces and hands and kept them off work for weeks.

While the firefighter community turned out in force to make sure Durst leaves town with their comments ringing in his ears, supporters of Sacramento's first responders -- and even their spokesman -- saved a blast for the man whose house the 46-year-old defendant torched.

Christopher Liu owned the empty rental on 25th Avenue in Oak Park that Durst destroyed by turning on a gas jet in the vacant kitchen, placing a lit candle in the corner of the living room and waiting for it to blow -- which it did when the firefighters responded to the gas leak and opened the front door.

Besides nearly killing the firefighters, the explosion caused $150,000 worth of damage that Liu said he has since recovered through his insurance payment.

In his lawsuit, he is asking for $1,008,000 from the Sacramento Fire Department, including $500,000 "for personal distress for being implicated in the media as an arson suspect."

"They should have been more careful," Liu said outside the courtroom, when asked why he filed his lawsuit.

Liu's suit drew a strong reaction from Deputy Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan, the department's spokesman.

"It's quite offensive, actually," Ogan said. "It's offensive that somebody would question, in this particular case after the facts have been investigated, our people's procedures and training and actions on that day."

Steve McKinney is the father of Scott McKinney, the firefighter who pried open the front door of Liu's house when his crew responded to the report of the gas leak.

The ensuing blast knocked the younger McKinney to his knees, before a window frame torn from the house flew through the air and smashed him in the face, breaking his nose. His hands were badly burned and his sunglasses had melted off his face. Infection seeped into his facial burns. He needed a regimen of antibiotics to fight it off.

The elder McKinney poured anger into an interview outside the courtroom, saying the efforts of the firefighters in responding to the gas leak probably saved the life of Liu's own son, who had been scheduled to go out to Oak Park that day to fix an air conditioning duct.

"His son could have opened that door," Steve McKinney said. "His son could have been blown up, and he'd be laying there burned to a crisp. And he's suing the Fire Department? I think he should be thanking these guys."

In fact, Steve McKinney added, "They should be suing him, because it was his employee (Durst) who caused this act."

Durst, who lived next door to the rental in the 3800 block of 25th Avenue, had been retained by Liu, a Colfax resident, on a plumbing job. Durst told police Liu shorted him $750 on his pay, which left him simmering to the point of wanting to inflict some damage. Liu maintained he withheld $200 from Durst due to substandard work.

In police interviews, Durst admitted he opened the gas valve and placed the candle in the corner. Evidence showed he'd been sitting on his own front porch around the 1:20 a.m. time frame authorities believe he jacked open the gas valve. Witnesses said he also seemed uninterested when told of the gas smell. The candle, meanwhile, belonged to his stepdaughter.

Liu's suit against the Fire Department was filed Aug. 26. It characterized the firefighters' response to the gas leak as "irresponsible, negligent, and/or criminal."

Liu, who filed the suit without the help of an attorney, suggested it was a spark from Scott McKinney's crowbar on the front door, or maybe the metal door rubbing against the carpet, that ignited the 38 therms of gas built up inside the unventilated residence by the time the firefighters made their entry around 9:50 a.m.

The property owner's suit said the firefighters were "so lax in their procedures that they Almost killed themselves!!" He suggested they should have waited for the "gas experts" from PG&E.

Outside court, Liu said "there was no fire going on" when the firefighters arrived, so "there was no reason for them to open the door." He said, "I want them to realize they didn't handle the situation properly."

Inside court, Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard characterized the firefighters as "heroes" who "want to protect society."

In handing down the 17-year term on Durst, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller noted that the defendant -- in his comments in his probation report -- also said the firefighters were to blame for their own injuries.

"To blame the firefighters in any way for their own injuries," Koller told Durst, with Liu seated three rows behind him, "is frankly despicable."

Copyright 2012 - The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service