The fiction of fire

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Photo courtesy of Kurt Kamm

Malibu and its firefighters provide inspiration for the potboiler novels of Kurt Kamm, who will make two local appearances to sign copies of his latest work, “Code Blood.”  

By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times

Call novelist Kurt Kamm the John Grisham of firefighter thrillers.

With his previous releases, “One Foot in the Black” (2008) and “Red Flag Warning” (2010), Kamm occupies a specific literary niche: crime novels built around firefighting themes. The author, who lives near Pepperdine University with his wife Connie and their three dogs, often draws inspiration from his community. He will sign copies of his latest book, “Code Blood,” at Diesel, A Bookstore on Jan. 22 and Ralphs on Feb. 4.

Malibu figures prominently in the DNA for Kamm’s crime novels. The plot of “Red Flag Warning,” a winner of numerous awards, centers around a serial arsonist trying to burn down Malibu. With alleged arsonist Harry Burkhart making international news over New Year’s weekend, the themes of Kamm’s novels couldn’t be hotter (so to speak). In fact, Kamm said, journalists have contacted him for comment on Burkhart’s crime spree.

For Kamm, a Denver native and former financial executive, moving to Malibu and becoming a writer went hand in hand. In 2006, Kamm relocated to Malibu after two decades of living in West Los Angeles. He was coming off a divorce and searching for a new direction.

“I moved to Malibu and I had absolutely nothing to do,” Kamm said. “It was really scary.”

A friend of his who wrote for the Los Angeles Times started a writing class, and Kamm decided to join. One day, on a bicycle ride near Pepperdine, Kamm witnessed a sight not uncommon in Malibu, but one that would change his life.

“I was riding my bike home one day and I see this L.A. firefighter helicopter, a converted Blackhawk,” Kamm said, describing the sight of a fly crew from Fire Camp 8 responding to a brush fire.

The incident inspired two paragraphs of dialogue in a story Kamm wrote for his class between a young boy and his abusive father, a firefighter. The theme clicked; Kamm’s classmates assumed his narrative was autobiographical.

“I thought to myself, ‘God, if people were so interested in this, maybe I should write about this,’” Kamm said.

He did, and set about writing his first novel. While Kamm worked on what would become “One Foot in the Black,” the 2007 Canyon Fire destroyed the homes of several neighbors and nearly claimed his. Kamm called it “the scariest thing that ever happened.”

“My front yard, my gate, my fence was completely burnt,” Kamm said. “My house was in one piece. The only reason that my house didn’t burn down was that there was a fire crew at my house and I couldn’t believe it.”

From this close brush with tragedy, “it got me going with the fire department,” he said.

As Kamm ingratiated himself with the local firefighters to research “Red Flag Warning,” he spent time at Camp Eight going through an abbreviated version of their training academy.

He turned to local law enforcement when researching his latest book as well.

“The guys at station 88, particularly the C shift, are the guys who helped me write ‘Code Blood,’” Kamm said.  “Whenever I go up to firefighters, I ask them, ‘Tell me your most interesting story.’”

It was Malibu paramedics who related to him a grisly true story about a woman whose foot was severed by a light pole after a truck crashed into it. It took the paramedics 10 to 15 minutes to find the missing appendage.

That incident informed the opening and central mystery of “Code Blood,” in which a stolen severed foot leads the protagonist through an underground web involving the Goth culture, the body parts black market and a Chinese connection.

Kamm, who has also tagged along with sheriff’s deputies on arson investigations, has come to a healthy appreciation for the work local firefighters do.

“L.A. County has 3,000 firefighters,” Kamm said. “It’s like a small military. They are incredibly well-organized, well-equipped and they have battle plans.”

Kamm is currently tagging along with Lancaster firemen for research for his fourth novel. However, living in Malibu continues to inspire many of the particulars in his work, and writing books such as “Code Blood” has, indirectly, expanded his horizons and enriched his life.

“My whole life has sort of changed because I have gotten into a whole group of friends [in the firefighting community] that I would never have really known,” said Kamm. “They’re born with a gene that other people don’t have: the interest to help people.”

Kamm will sign books at Diesel, A Bookstore in the Malibu Country Mart, on Sun., Jan. 22 at 3:00 p.m., and Ralphs market, 23841 Malibu Road, on Sat., Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.