Justice
Battling Detroit's Arson Epidemic
With so many vacant buildings, firefighters in Detroit are among the busiest in the nation. A new documentary sets out to tell their story
Over at TheAtlantic.com's Video channel, Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg chats with the filmmakers behind Burn, a forthcoming documentary that follows a Detroit fire department company for a full year as they do battle with one of the worst arson rates in the country.
Co-directors Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez are still in the editing room on the film, but based on some of the early footage (see below for selected scenes and a teaser trailer), it looks like they've got a powerful story on their hands. Here's how Putnam describes their initial approach: