WATCH: Neighbor’s double take helped police identify accused wildfire arsonist as flames raced nearby

Paul Child drove past a alien doubly adjacent railroad tracks extracurricular his Washington home, past watched fume emergence astir 10 minutes aft the antheral crouched successful adjacent bushes – mounting disconnected a concatenation of events that helped constabulary place an accused wildfire arsonist.

Newly obtained bodycam footage shows officers evacuating Child’s household and taking him, his grandson and the boy’s person to a tract showup aft detaining a antheral who matched their description.

While Child and the different witnesses waited adjacent the showup scene, bodycam footage captured an serviceman saying the detained antheral had "a full fanny battalion afloat of matches."

The video does not amusement the alleged matches oregon found however they were recovered.

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Aaron F. Farinacci was arrested connected suspicion of first-degree arson successful transportation with the Old Trails Fire successful eastbound Washington. (Arizona Department of Corrections)

Child said helium and the different witnesses – his grandson and his grandson’s person – were not told astir the alleged matches oregon different items earlier they were asked to presumption the detained man.

"We thought helium had a backpack," Child told Fox News Digital. "They didn’t accidental thing to america anyhow astir the fanny battalion with matches, cigarettes [and] I conjecture lighter successful it."

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Child told Fox News Digital that he, his grandson and the grandson’s person spotted a antheral doubly adjacent railroad tracks adjacent to the evident occurrence origin. The 2nd time, Child said, the man’s behaviour appeared unusual.

Wildfire witnesser Paul Child speaks with an Airway Heights serviceman adjacent his pickup motortruck arsenic authorities respond to the Old Trails Fire connected Aug. 1, 2026. (Airway Heights Police Department)

"He was benignant of bent implicit and looked similar helium was doing thing successful the bushes," Child said. "He got up, saw us. When helium saw us, helium turned to look america and benignant of was pacing backmost and distant nervously."

Child said determination was nary fume erstwhile the radical past saw the man. Within astir 10 minutes of returning home, however, helium said fume began rising astir a half-mile away.

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Bodycam footage from the Airway Heights Police Department shows fume billowing successful the region arsenic Officer Pace speaks with Child’s household astir evacuating. The serviceman aboriginal tells them constabulary whitethorn person detained "your guy" and that they could beryllium asked to instrumentality portion successful a showup.

Airway Heights constabulary body-camera footage shows fume from the Old Trails Fire adjacent a agrarian spot connected Aug. 1, 2026. (Airway Heights Police Department)

A tract showup is an in-person recognition process successful which witnesses presumption a idiosyncratic detained soon aft an incident.

While the footage does not amusement the identification, Child said Pace escorted him and the 2 boys to a determination astir a mile and a fractional from his home.

"We pulled disconnected to the broadside of the roadworthy and they got an idiosyncratic retired from the backmost of the … Spokane County lawman car," Child said. "We looked astatine him, and each 3 of america gave them [a] positive, 100% affirmative ID that’s who we’d seen successful the country conscionable earlier the occurrence started."

Child said helium and the 2 teen witnesses positively identified the detained antheral during the tract showup. Authorities aboriginal identified the antheral arsenic Aaron Forrest Farinacci.

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Smoke billows adjacent a agrarian spot extracurricular Airway Heights, Washington, arsenic an serviceman responds to the Old Trails Fire connected Aug. 1, 2026. (Airway Heights Police Department)

The Aug. 1 tract showup did not instantly pb to charges. Farinacci was released aft the witnesses identified the detained man, past was arrested connected charges 2 days later, connected Aug. 3.

Child said helium did not initially recognize Farinacci had been released.

Paul Child, a witnesser who reported the arson fishy arrested for the Old Trails Fire, looks retired adjacent a wooded country sprayed with occurrence retardant astatine his location successful Spokane, Wash., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (Lindsey Wasson / AP Images)

"I was like, well, convey God, due to the fact that … I thought they had him detained the full time. I didn’t recognize they didn’t person probable origin to clasp him for a mates days. … He could locomotion close backmost up that road," Child said.

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Heavy fume blankets the Spokane country arsenic firefighters conflict respective fast-moving wildfires that person forced thousands of evacuations and prompted a monolithic exigency response. (Spokane Valley Fire Department)

Farinacci is accused of starting the Old Trails Fire, 1 of 3 blazes that person burned crossed Spokane and Stevens counties since Aug. 1. The Old Trails, Fairview and Autumn Lane fires had burned a combined 10,002 acres and damaged oregon destroyed much than 920 structures, Spokane occurrence officials reported Monday.

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Farinacci, who was initially held connected $1 cardinal bail, appeared successful tribunal Thursday, erstwhile a justice doubled his bail to $2 million. He besides faces 4 further arson charges aft tribunal documents alleged helium admitted to mounting 25 fires successful the country since 2025.

Court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital allege Farinacci monitored upwind apps to place perfect occurrence conditions and built a delayed ignition instrumentality to commencement the Old Trails Fire.

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A firefighter battles flames during the Old Trails Fire successful Spokane, Washington. (City of Spokane, Facebook)

Although Farinacci initially denied engagement successful the Old Trails Fire during questioning aft his Aug. 3 arrest, tribunal documents allege helium aboriginal confessed to readying and mounting the blaze. The documents accidental helium planned the occurrence for 2 weeks.

Investigators allege Farinacci built a time-delay instrumentality from paper, matches, cigarettes and rubber bands modeled aft 1 utilized by serial arsonist John Leonard Orr. Court documents besides allege helium deliberately acceptable simultaneous fires astatine different times to distract and bladed retired exigency effect crews.

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As the wildfire spread, Child’s household gathered pets and belongings earlier evacuating their home.

A Moses Lake Fire Department firefighter works to extinguish hotspots astatine a location destroyed successful the Old Trails Fire connected Aug. 5, 2026, successful Spokane, Washington. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

"It was beauteous chaotic," Child said. "I forgot my medications. We forgot leashes for the dogs oregon canine nutrient and each that stuff."

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Child said the flames came nary person than astir a quarter-mile from his home, but helium feared a displacement successful the upwind could person sent the fast-moving occurrence toward his spot wrong minutes.

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Looking back, Child said helium sees his determination to alert constabulary arsenic lone 1 portion of the response.

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"I’m atrocious I wasn’t capable to halt him from doing what helium did," Child said, adding that helium believes helium played lone a tiny portion successful the antheral being caught. "It was benignant of like, well, good. At slightest he’s disconnected the street."

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"I mean, helium wasn’t going to stop," Child added. "Fortunately, helium didn’t termination anybody this time, but I ideate his luck connected that was going to tally retired if helium continued to acceptable fires."

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.