A 41-year-old Vancouver volunteer firefighter facing a first-degree arson charge died by suicide inside the Clark County Jail on July 29. Curran E. Fine had no history of mental illness or suicidality on record when he was booked, according to court records, raising fresh questions about a facility that has struggled for years with in-custody self-harm.
Fine's death was confirmed by medical examiner's officials, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive. He had been jailed after prosecutors filed a probable cause affidavit accusing him of first-degree arson, a Class A felony under Washington law that carries a maximum sentence of up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to Washington Revised Code.
A Fire Amid a Friendship Falling Apart
The case stemmed from an April 29 house fire that burned the home of a friend Fine had been living with, per the same account. The blaze happened amid an ongoing conflict between Fine and that friend, and the Vancouver Fire Department responded to put the fire out. Court records indicate the extent of damage to the house remains unspecified, and the affidavit also alleges Fine had used methamphetamine in his friend's home.
Fine was identified as a volunteer firefighter from Vancouver, a detail that adds a grim irony to the arson allegation he was facing. Firefighter-involved arson is statistically rare but not unheard of: fire safety experts and the National Volunteer Fire Council estimate roughly 100 firefighters across North America are arrested or convicted each year for setting intentional fires.
A Jail With a Troubled History
Fine's death is the latest in a long pattern at the Clark County Jail. An investigation into Pacific Northwest detention facilities found that between January 2005 and June 2016, 16 of 22 inmate deaths at the jail were ruled suicides — the highest total among Washington counties in that span, according to OPB. In January 2024, 61-year-old inmate Rodger Williams died from an apparent suicide in a single-occupancy cell at the same facility during routine officer security checks, per the Clark County government.
The county has also faced significant financial and legal fallout tied to jail mental health screening. In July 2025, Clark County and its contracted jail healthcare provider, NaphCare, Inc., agreed to a $2.75 million settlement after a 27-year-old inmate severely decompensated mentally following seven and a half months in custody without an initial mental health screening, according to Prison Legal News.
How Screening Works — and Where It Can Fall Short
Clark County Department of Jail Services intake policy requires every detainee to undergo a basic medical screening at booking, but specialized mental health evaluations are only triggered if red flags are observed or disclosed during intake questioning. That structure can allow someone without a documented psychiatric history, like Fine, to move into general housing without intensive monitoring.
The risk is compounded by physical layout. A statewide study by Disability Rights Washington found that hanging accounted for more than 80% of inmate suicides across the state, with most occurring while detainees were held in single-occupancy cells or isolated areas. Nationally, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics has found suicide is consistently the leading non-natural cause of death in local jails, accounting for roughly one-third of all inmate deaths.
Past county efforts to address the problem date back at least a decade. In September 2016, the Clark County Sheriff's Office requested more than $830,000 from county commissioners for jail retrofits and vital-sign monitoring technology, building on a $550,000 grant from 2013 that had created a dedicated 10-person suicide prevention unit.
Investigation Now Underway
Under standard Clark County Sheriff's Office procedure, all in-custody deaths trigger an immediate investigation by major crimes detectives, followed by a formal coroner's inquest to establish the official cause and examine the surrounding circumstances. Open questions remain about whether Fine was housed alone, how frequently safety checks were conducted before his death, and what the coroner's inquest ultimately concludes.
Fine's death adds to a string of recent Vancouver-area cases that have landed suspects in the Clark County Jail on serious charges, including a woman charged with first-degree arson over a patio blaze involving an ex's clothes and a man arrested outside a middle school on child exploitation charges.
Anyone experiencing thoughts of suicide can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for support. Teens can also reach Teen-to-Teen Crisis and Help by calling 877-968-8491 or texting teen2teen to 839863. The Alcohol and Drug Hotline can be reached at 800-923-4357.
