Arson on Coronation Street: solution or problem or both?

please note this post makes reference to the April 21 episode on CBC

It's not surprising that Owen Armstrong has identified arson as a potential solution to all his problems with the dastardly Pat Feelin Phelan.  This is certainly not the first time that a patented brainiac on Coronation Street has resorted to an accelerant-based solution to life's problems.

It was not so long ago, after all, that the old slime ball, Karl Munro (ex-husband of the perpetually pursed-lipped Stella), tried to cover up his numerous misdeeds by setting fire to the Rovers.

And, I seem to recall that the evil Tony Gordon used a similar modus operandi when he decided to burn down Underworld.

Even Leanne Battersby (yes, that Leanne Battersby) wasn't exactly practicing her flambé techniques when she co-planned the intentional torching of her ill-fated Italian restaurant with a guy named Paul - in exchange for sexual favours (don't ask, just think of it as 'a la carte, a la tarte' - ed).

The point is (you mean there is one? - ed), that arson often comes up as a seemingly viable option for desperate Corrie characters but it never works and innocent people almost always get hurt. So far, the Windass-Armstrong brains trust have tried clobbering Phelan with a plank (Gary, in both senses of the word), stealing Phelan's tiles and setting fire to the site. There must be a better way.