A dentist accused of starting a fire at his Alabama dental practice that ignited an explosion has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to a press release dated March 6 from the Office of the Attorney General, State of Alabama.
Dr. Douglas O’Connor was sentenced after he pleaded guilty on February 3 to second-degree arson and first-degree insurance fraud for intentionally setting fire to his own dental practice in Evergreen, AL, in an attempt to collect insurance money to cover his mounting debt, according to the press release.
“Alabamians put their trust in doctors to do no harm,” Alabama Attorney General Steven Marshall said in the press release. “Dr. O’Connor shattered that trust in the most deliberate way possible. He set fire to his own practice, endangered the lives of those next door and attempted to defraud his insurance company to cover years of reckless spending.”
In January, O’Connor was arrested after a 10-month investigation into an explosion at his dental office.
Surveillance video from neighboring businesses that captured O’Connor’s actions on the night of March 28, 2025, helped lead to his arrest. The video showed O’Connor arriving at his closed dental practice and entering and exiting the building multiple times. At about 9:48 p.m. on March 28, the dentist reportedly stood at the back entrance of the practice, struck a match, and threw it inside the building, igniting an explosion within seconds, according to the press release.
The blast not only destroyed the dental practice but also caused more than $63,000 in damage to the Alabama State Trooper Post located next door.
Forensic testing confirmed the presence of gasoline on the clothing O’Connor wore on the evening of the explosion and on the floor of the torched dental office, according to the press release.
Investigators discovered that O’Connor had accumulated significant debt and was no longer able to obtain additional loans.
