"He said he was going to burn the building down for the purpose of collecting insurance money to take care of some financial problems he was having," Ryan said.

There are eight offices in the Zarit's building.

"Had the fire gone has planned, it would have destroyed several buildings," Ryan said. "The immediate flash could have been real significant ... If he had done it immediately and not taken a break, we really could have had further problems."

If he had set the fire immediately, the dentist and his patient would not have survived, he said. If the fire had spread and picked up steam, it could have spread to nearby condos and even a hotel, Ryan said.

A check of state professional licensing records shows Zarit has had an active chiropracticing license since 1999.

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