 He goes on to write 'The examination of the police rank-and-file... all proved that the fire had been prepared and executed by order of Count Rostopchin'.Furthermore, a Moscow police officer was captured trying to set the Kremlin on fire where Napoleon was staying at the time; brought before Napoleon, the officer admitted he and others had been ordered to set the city on fire after which he was bayonetted by guardsmen on the spot on the orders of a furious Napoleon.The catastrophe started as many small fires, which promptly grew out of control and formed a massive blaze.