Nashville Arson Attorney
Arson cases are built by investigators reading a burned scene backward, and the science they use has been wrong before. Austin Tomlinson defends arson and reckless burning charges in Davidson County.
How Tennessee Grades Arson
Tennessee separates burning offenses by what burned and who was at risk. Damaging a structure or farm equipment is arson, a Class C felony. Burning other personal property or land is a Class E felony. If a person was present or anyone suffered serious bodily injury, either one becomes aggravated arson, a Class A felony.
The element that decides most of these cases is knowingly. A fire that started is not the same as a fire that was set, and proving which one happened is harder than the charging document makes it look.
| Offense | What it covers | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Aggravated arson § 39-14-302 |
Arson with a person present, or where anyone suffers serious bodily injury | Class A felony |
| Arson of a place of worship § 39-14-301(b)(2) |
A structure meeting the statute's definition of a place of worship | Class B felony |
| Arson § 39-14-301 |
Knowingly damaging a structure or farm equipment by fire or explosion | Class C felony |
| Setting fire to personal property or land § 39-14-303 |
Property other than the buildings and structures covered by § 39-14-301 | Class E felony |
| Reckless burning § 39-14-304 |
Recklessly starting a fire, or letting your own fire escape onto another's property | Class A misdemeanor |
| Leaving a fire near woodland § 39-14-305 |
An unattended open fire within 150 feet of forest, woodland or inflammable material | Class B misdemeanor |
| Burning without a permit § 39-14-306(a) |
Open-air fire October 15 to May 15 within 500 feet of forest or grassland, no permit. Does not apply inside a city with its own fire ordinances | Class C misdemeanor |
Arson reached farm equipment only recently. Section 39-14-301 was amended in 2020 to cover farm tractors, tractor-drawn implements and motorized farm machinery used in commercial production, alongside structures. Burning a tractor is now the same Class C felony as burning a building.
A Class E Charge Can Become a Class A Felony Because Someone Was Inside
Aggravated arson under § 39-14-302 does not build only on § 39-14-301. It builds on § 39-14-303 as well. That means burning personal property or land, ordinarily a Class E felony, escalates all the way to a Class A felony if one or more persons were present, or if any person suffered serious bodily injury as a result.
The statute names firefighters and law enforcement officers in that injury provision. A responder hurt fighting the fire triggers the same escalation as an occupant. That is four classes of difference turning on a fact nobody thought about when the fire started.
One honest caveat. The statute's phrase is persons present therein, which was drafted around structures, and how it applies to a § 39-14-303 predicate such as open land or a vehicle is not well settled. That is an argument to be made, not a foregone conclusion.
Either way it is among the most important things to understand about an arson allegation in Tennessee, and it is the reason these cases should never be assessed from the charge name alone.
Fires, Insurance Claims and Two Separate Charges
Tennessee has no standalone arson-for-insurance statute. Insurance motive is written into arson itself at § 39-14-301(a)(2), which reaches damaging a structure with intent to collect insurance or for any unlawful purpose. Filing the claim afterward can be a second, separate charge under § 39-14-133.
Section 39-14-133 covers intentionally presenting, or causing to be presented, a false or fraudulent insurance claim, and it is punished as in the case of theft, graded by the dollar value of the claim. A large claim on a burned property can therefore carry a heavier class than the arson count sitting next to it.
This matters practically because an insurer's own investigation often runs first. Recorded statements, examinations under oath and proof-of-loss documents get created before anyone is charged, and every one of them is available to a prosecutor later. Anyone whose fire is being investigated by a carrier should have counsel before that process starts, not after.
Your Vehicle Can Be Forfeited
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-307, all vehicles or property used by the sole owner in committing arson, aggravated arson, setting fire to personal property or land, or reckless burning are subject to forfeiture, along with anything of value received as compensation for the offense.
Read the words used by the sole owner carefully, because they are a real limit. A financed truck with a lienholder on the title, or a jointly titled vehicle, is arguably outside the statute. Forfeiture also runs on its own track alongside the criminal case, so it is worth raising at the beginning rather than discovering later.
Where Arson Cases Are Actually Contested
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Cause and Origin
Whether the fire was set at all. Accidental electrical, appliance and heating-source causes get ruled out by investigators, and how rigorously that was done is examinable.
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The Science Behind the Opinion
Fire investigation standards, including NFPA 921, have been revised substantially over the past few decades. Burn-pattern interpretations once treated as proof of an accelerant are treated more cautiously now, and which edition of the standard an expert worked from is fair game.
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Knowingly, Not Merely Present
Arson requires knowing conduct. Recklessness is a different and far lesser offense, and the gap between the two is often where the real argument is.
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Who Was Present
Because presence drives the jump to a Class A felony, whether anyone was actually inside, and whether that was known, carries enormous weight.
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Consent and Ownership
One route under § 39-14-301 turns on burning without the consent of everyone holding an interest. Ownership, lienholders and permission are all provable. Note the second route, insurance or unlawful purpose, does not depend on consent at all.
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Motive Built Backward
Financial hardship gets offered as motive in insurance cases. Hardship is common and proves nothing on its own, and that framing can be answered.
Veterans Facing an Arson Allegation
Arson, aggravated arson and setting fire to personal property or land are all felonies, and a felony conviction ends firearm rights, which for many veterans is the career. Aggravated arson is a Class A felony, the most serious felony class in the Tennessee code.
Where a case connects to a service-related condition, that belongs in front of the prosecutor early and with documentation behind it. Austin is a veteran and raises it in the first conversation rather than the fourth.
Veterans Defense OptionsThree Felony Levels
Arson, aggravated arson and setting fire to personal property or land are felonies, with the firearm and clearance consequences that follow. The burning offenses below them are misdemeanors.
Veterans Treatment Court
Davidson County runs a dedicated Veterans Treatment Court. Participation comes as a condition of probation or through a diversion program, depending on the case.
Service Connection as Mitigation
A documented service-connected condition carries real weight with a prosecutor and a judge. It has to be raised early and with records behind it.
Why Clients Hire Austin for an Arson Case
The Expert Gets Questioned
A cause-and-origin opinion is an opinion. What it rests on, and what it ruled out, is where these cases are won.
The Escalation Gets Fought
Presence and injury drive the jump to a Class A felony. Those facts get contested rather than conceded.
The Insurer Is Part Of It
A carrier's investigation runs alongside the criminal case and feeds it. Both get handled together.
Nashville Arson FAQ
What is the difference between arson and reckless burning?
The mental state. Arson under § 39-14-301 requires knowingly damaging a structure or farm equipment by fire or explosion, and it is a Class C felony. Reckless burning under § 39-14-304 covers recklessly starting a fire or letting your own fire escape onto someone else's property, and it is a Class A misdemeanor. That gap between knowing and reckless is often the whole case.
Why am I charged with aggravated arson when nobody was hurt?
Injury is only one of the two triggers. Under § 39-14-302, aggravated arson also applies when one or more persons were present. Nobody has to be hurt. Presence alone takes the offense to a Class A felony, which is why whether anyone was actually there is fought over so heavily.
Can I be charged if I burned my own property?
Yes, in two situations. Section 39-14-301 reaches burning without the consent of everyone holding a possessory, proprietary or security interest, so a lienholder or co-owner matters. It also separately reaches damaging a structure with intent to collect insurance or for any unlawful purpose. Owning it is not a defense by itself.
Does burning a car or a field count as arson?
It falls under § 39-14-303, setting fire to personal property or land, which is a Class E felony. Be careful with that one though: if a person was present or anyone suffered serious bodily injury, § 39-14-303 is a predicate for aggravated arson and the exposure jumps to a Class A felony.
Can they take my truck?
Potentially. Section 39-14-307 subjects vehicles and property used by the sole owner in committing these offenses to forfeiture, along with anything of value received as compensation. Those three words, used by the sole owner, matter: a financed or jointly titled vehicle is arguably outside it. Forfeiture runs on its own track alongside the criminal case.
The fire marshal wants to interview me. Should I?
Not without counsel. A fire investigation is a criminal investigation, and so is an insurer's examination under oath in its practical effect, because what you say there can reach a prosecutor. Get advice before either one rather than afterward.
What is a place of worship under the statute?
It is defined narrowly. The structure has to be approved, or qualified to be approved, for religious property tax exemption based on ownership and use by a religious institution, and it has to be used regularly by that institution for congregational services or activities. Where it applies, the offense is a Class B felony rather than a Class C.