FFF: The Peterson Fire

I have a hard time following along with this story.  The story line is so confusing.  I think Bud Peterson started the fire.  It is so convenient that he is the only one that got out alive and that the fire started where everyone else in the house was sleeping except him.  The author states that he was a kid who did not ever stand out.  Maybe he was a little crazy like kids you see in T.V. shows and criminal shows.  The quiet ones are always the ones that end up bringing a gun to school.  I do not understand at the end when he says he remembers the name of the dog.  What does that have to do with anything?