They are definitely responsible for starting the fire, whether utilities were on or not.If tenant has insurance, they should file a claim.

I recently had a client purchase a duplex in Forest Park here in the western suburbs with this exact plan in mind.

Quote from @Jessie Dillon: one thing that you can do is have the seller transfer the deed to a living trust that they're the sole beneficiary of, and call the bank to give them a heads up that they're doing it for estate planning purposes. then, a month or more later, buy the property sub-to, and change the beneficiary of the trust. the bank can not see who owns a trust, and if they ever come back and question it, you can just swap the beneficiaries again, show the bank that the seller is still the owner, then swap it back again when they buzz off. this is one of many reasons it's so important to keep a good relationships with the seller if you're buying this way. you have to work together on some stuff.In summary: fraud. 

If i close my eyes, I see a cozy dark interior, two chairs facing the fire and dramatic lighting in the corners and ceilings. 

It wont cover wind hail fire or water damages etc?

Prices are easily up 15% since the fire.

He mentioned the distance to the nearest fires (about 20 miles), but the bank isn’t budging.

May check credit union too if you have access to any like fire/ police, vets, etc if you qualify :)

I fired the PM and hired a much better one, which has been a breath of fresh air.

Quote from @James Boreno: One of my SFH caught on fire and I'm in the process of selling it to a contractor.