Shivering on stairs, one starts a fire (8)
I believe the answer is:
arsonist
'one starts a fire' is the definition.
(criminal who sets a fire)
'shivering on stairs' is the wordplay.
'shivering' indicates anagramming the letters.
'on'+'stairs'='onstairs'
'onstairs' with letters rearranged gives 'ARSONIST'.
(Other definitions for arsonist that I've seen before include "A major criminal" , "Like blazes he will" , "Criminal fire-raiser" , "Guy seeking to raise temperature" , "One firing property" .)