4 points
If I’ve learned anything from your elaboration, it’s that I should vote for an arsonist, but only if they burn things for insurance money rather than murder.
On a more serious note, the first fire alarm boxes weren’t invented until Barnum was 42, and still took some time to spread from Boston. Places weren’t super-well equipped to deal with normal fires, much less ones that started in places filled with hay, dust, paint, paper, and dyed cloth.