John Leonard Orr

John Leonard Orr (born April 26, 1949) is an American convicted serial arsonist, mass murderer and former firefighter. A fire captain and arson investigator in Glendale, California, Orr was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder; he is believed to have set nearly 2,000 fires in a 30 year arson spree, most of them between 1984 and 1991, making him the most prolific serial arsonist in U.S. history.

During his arson spree, Orr had several nicknames: the Pillow Pyro due to the location of the fires inside retail stores; the Frito Bandito, due to starting some of his fires using potato chips; and the Coin Tosser for incorporating coins into his incendiary devices. Orr's modus operandi was to set fires using a timed device, usually comprising a lit cigarette with three matches wrapped in ruled yellow writing paper and secured by a rubber band, in stores while they were open and populated. He would also set small fires in the grassy hills in order to distract firefighters, leaving fires set in more congested areas unattended. He would sometimes be part of the firefighting crew that investigated the fires.