Dixon High School forensics class gets answers to burning questions

DIXON – Project by project, a Dixon High School science teacher set fire Tuesday to his class members’ homework.

Ryan Deets teaches the school’s forensics arson class. Students were directed to form teams and build model homes strictly for the purpose of setting them ablaze.

The study is used as a method for students to learn about burn and smoke patterns. Classes met outside Tuesday to watch their work go up in flames as Dixon City Fire Chief Ryan Buskohl stood by to douse the fire.

The models will be deconstructed and studied in an attempt to decide whether arson can be determined as the cause of each fire.

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Adalyn Hitt, a junior at Dixon High School, records her burning house model Tuesday, April 22, 2025, outside of Dixon High School. The forensics class at DHS built houses then set them ablaze to study burn patterns as an arson investigation. (Alex T. Paschal)