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Paul Child drove past a stranger twice near railroad tracks outside his Washington home, then watched smoke rise about 10 minutes after the man crouched in nearby bushes – setting off a chain of events that helped police identify an accused wildfire arsonist.
Newly obtained bodycam footage shows officers evacuating Child’s family and taking him, his grandson and the boy’s friend to a field showup after detaining a man who matched their description.
While Child and the other witnesses waited near the showup scene, bodycam footage captured an officer saying the detained man had “a whole fanny pack full of matches.”
The video does not show the alleged matches or establish how they were recovered.
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Child said he and the other witnesses – his grandson and his grandson’s friend – were not told about the alleged matches or other items before they were asked to view the detained man.
“We thought he had a backpack,” Child told Fox News Digital. “They didn’t say anything to us anyway about the fanny pack with matches, cigarettes [and] I guess lighter in it.”
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Child told Fox News Digital that he, his grandson and the grandson’s friend spotted a man twice near railroad tracks close to the apparent fire origin. The second time, Child said, the man’s behavior appeared unusual.
“He was kind of bent over and looked like he was doing something in the bushes,” Child said. “He got up, saw us. When he saw us, he turned to face us and kind of was pacing back and forth nervously.”
Child said there was no smoke when the group last saw the man. Within about 10 minutes of returning home, however, he said smoke began rising about a half-mile away.
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Bodycam footage from the Airway Heights Police Department shows smoke billowing in the distance as Officer Pace speaks with Child’s family about evacuating. The officer later tells them police may have detained “your guy” and that they could be asked to take part in a showup.
A field showup is an in-person identification procedure in which witnesses view a person detained shortly after an incident.
While the footage does not show the identification, Child said Pace escorted him and the two boys to a location about a mile and a half from his home.
“We pulled off to the side of the road and they got an individual out from the back of the … Spokane County deputy car,” Child said. “We looked at him, and all three of us gave them [a] positive, 100% positive ID that’s who we’d seen in the area just before the fire started.”
Child said he and the two teen witnesses positively identified the detained man during the field showup. Authorities later identified the man as Aaron Forrest Farinacci.
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The Aug. 1 field showup did not immediately lead to charges. Farinacci was released after the witnesses identified the detained man, then was arrested on charges two days later, on Aug. 3.
Child said he did not initially realize Farinacci had been released.
“I was like, well, thank God, because … I thought they had him detained the whole time. I didn’t realize they didn’t have probable cause to hold him for a couple days. … He could walk right back up that road,” Child said.
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Farinacci is accused of starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three blazes that have burned across Spokane and Stevens counties since Aug. 1. The Old Trails, Fairview and Autumn Lane fires had burned a combined 10,002 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 920 structures, Spokane fire officials reported Monday.
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Farinacci, who was initially held on $1 million bail, appeared in court Thursday, when a judge doubled his bail to $2 million. He also faces four additional arson charges after court documents alleged he admitted to setting 25 fires in the area since 2025.
Court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital allege Farinacci monitored weather apps to identify ideal fire conditions and built a delayed ignition device to start the Old Trails Fire.
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Although Farinacci initially denied involvement in the Old Trails Fire during questioning after his Aug. 3 arrest, court documents allege he later confessed to planning and setting the blaze. The documents say he planned the fire for two weeks.
Investigators allege Farinacci built a time-delay device from paper, matches, cigarettes and rubber bands modeled after one used by serial arsonist John Leonard Orr. Court documents also allege he deliberately set simultaneous fires at other times to distract and thin out emergency response crews.
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As the wildfire spread, Child’s family gathered pets and belongings before evacuating their home.
“It was pretty chaotic,” Child said. “I forgot my medications. We forgot leashes for the dogs or dog food and all that stuff.”
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Child said the flames came no closer than about a quarter-mile from his home, but he feared a shift in the wind could have sent the fast-moving fire toward his property within minutes.
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Looking back, Child said he sees his decision to alert police as only one part of the response.
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“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop him from doing what he did,” Child said, adding that he believes he played only a small part in the man being caught. “It was kind of like, well, good. At least he’s off the street.”
“I mean, he wasn’t going to stop,” Child added. “Fortunately, he didn’t kill anybody this time, but I imagine his luck on that was going to run out if he continued to set fires.”
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.
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