WASHINGTON, July 28 -- A Branch Davidian who survived the horrific fire that ended the 1993 siege near Waco, Texas, emotionally told a House committee Friday of his last minutes inside the compound. But arson experts testified that the blaze was deliberately set by those inside the compound. Cult member Clive Doyle broke down into tears as he described the last minutes before the fire consumed the compound. He said he was cut off in the compound's chapel when the fire began, did not know how it started and did not know if cult leader David Koresh committed suicide. Doyle said he was in his room upstairs in the compound when the initial ATF raid began, but is certain federal agents fired first and the Branch Davidians acted in 'self defense.' Doyle, whose teenage daughter was reportedly one of Koresh's wives and who perished in the fire, was acquitted in a subsequent criminal trial. But James Quintiere professor of fire protection engineering at the University of Maryland, used infrared videotape shot from an FBI airplane on April 19, 1993, to show at least three, possibly four fires breaking out in different parts of the compound within minutes. A GOP-dominated panel is looking into the controversial siege that began when agents of Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tried to serve weapons warrants on cult leader David Koresh and other cult members on Feb. 28, 1993. Four ATF agents were killed in ambush, and 20 more were wounded.
At least four Branch Davidians were killed in the subsequent battle. The siege ended 51 days later when FBI armored vehicles inserted tear gas into the compound from about 6 a.m. until noon, and the spectacular fire broke out shortly after noon. More than 80 Branch Davidians, 22 of them children, died. Quintiere said autopsy evidence indicates that carbon monoxide claimed most of the victims, but at least 26 of them died before inhaling lethal amounts. Of those 26, 17 were apparently killed by gunshot wounds, he said. The FBI has said that some within the compound were killed by cult leaders or committed suicide. Using televisions set up for the panel, Quintiere pointed out that the infrared tape was able to film the compound through the smoke and show the slightest evidence of heat. The fires 'were intentionally set from with the compound,' Quintiere told the panel. 'Although normal furnishings and interior construction characteristics would provide a means for fire propagation,' Quintiere testified, 'the more than usual rapid spread of these fires, especially in the dining room and chapel areas, indicates to me that some form of accelerant was likely used.' Quintiere's analysis was backed up in testimony from Paul Gray, assistant chief of the Houston Fire Department's arson team. 'There is no doubt that the ultimate responsibility for starting this fire lies...with the Davidians themselves,' Gray said. Burned material from the fire contained a variety of flammable materials, Gray said, and investigators found about two dozen flammable liquid containers with their lids removed. Specially trained dogs indicated the evidence of flammable liquids after the fire cooled, he added. Quintiere and Gray rejected theories from Republican members of the panel that the fire could have been started by gas lanterns overturned by FBI armored vehicles injecting tear gas into the compound. The last armored vehicle left the compound area a minute and a half before the first fire started in another area of the complex, according to the infrared videotape. Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also referred repeatedly during Friday's testimony to FBI surveillance tapes with conversations indicating Branch Davidians were spreading flammable material. Quintiere and Gray, who were called to testify by the Democratic minority, were disputed somewhat by Rick Sherrow, who was a Republican witness. Sherrow is retired from the U.S. Army and spent six years as an arson investigator for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 'I didn't come to this hearing with answers, but with questions,' Sherrow said. 'I'm not saying (the fire) was not intentionally set, I'm just saying I've got a lot of studying to do,' he added. Sherrow said ordinary citizens were beginning 'to fight back' against anti-gun federal agents. Those fighting back include 'the average citizen -- university professors, grandmothers...unfortunately, they're getting a lot of garbage' from the federal government, he said. Earlier Friday, several top Justice Department and FBI officials testified that there was no pressure from the White House to end the siege. Former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell told the panel he had no communication with President Clinton about Waco before April 19, the day the siege ended, but had met with him on a personal basis. Hubbell said all Waco information was channeled through the White House counsel's office. Hubbell's appearance was his last before beginning his 21-month sentence for defrauding the government of lawyer's fees when he was a private attorney in Little Rock, Ark. Former FBI Director William Sessions, a Reagan appointee, also testified that the White House did not pressure the FBI or try to micro- manage the siege. Sessions was eventually fired by Clinton because of reports he and his wife made personal use of FBI resources.
