Introduction
This course is designed for Fire Investigation and assessment, with a focus on scene preservation and identifying fire causes. Using international and national best practices, the course highlights the importance of identifying and investigating scenes of suspicious or accidental fires and emphasizes collaboration with other responding agencies. Participants will learn how these agencies coordinate to extinguish fires, treat casualties, secure the site, and preserve and examine evidence. Attendees will gain an understanding of combustion chemistry and the processes involved in reconstructing and documenting events to determine fire causes.
Analyzing a fire scene requires investigators to identify not only the fire’s origin and cause but also how it spread, its likely path through a building, and how it was ultimately extinguished. Fire scene investigation is a complex area of forensic science due to its multidisciplinary demands, as fires can involve everyday items, and investigators must understand various fields, including prevention, construction, electricity, gas, and even human behavior. As a result, fire investigators may also be called to serve as expert witnesses in court.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of all Emergency Responders
- Methods of fire scene investigation and security.
- USA NFPA 921 / 1033 & UK Chief Fire Officers Association Procedures
- Fire and Explosion Dynamics
- Collection and Preservation of Evidence
- Origin Determination and application of burn patterns
- Determination of Electrical Fire Causes
Who Should Attend?
This course has been designed to provide those personnel who are, or will become responsible for Fire Investigation within their organization. Fire-fighters, law enforcement, security personnel, insurance company loss adjusters, supervisors and those managers responsible for the process but who may not have had sufficient time to devote to the subject.
Course Benefits
- How to identify and investigate a suspicious/accidental fire scene
- Understand the proper procedure for securing a fire scene
- Understand proper evidence-collection techniques and the importance of evidence-preservation
- Understand the chemistry of combustion and extinction
- Understand how safety aspects of building construction and design relate to fire prevention and Safety
- Define and explain the common terms used in fire investigations.
Course Results
- Document an emergency scene, following international and national best practices and legal requirements
- At the end of the course, the candidate will be able to successfully undertake a Fire Investigation using a systematic approach to the scene
- The candidate will be able to identify, preserve, and collect many types of potential evidence using the methods discussed in the course
- Demonstrate a technical understanding of characteristics and impacts of fire loss and the crime of arson necessary to conduct competent fire/emergency investigations and analysis.
The Core Competencies
- Understand the reasons for accurate fire scene investigation
- Understand the physical property of fire and its effects on fuels present at a fire scene
- Understand the application of burn patterns to the area or point of fire origin
- Understand sources of ignition and its application to the fuel present
- Know various methods of fire scene security
Course Outlines
Introduction to International Fire Investigation
- The Cost of Fires – International Fire Loss Statistics
- The role of the first responders at the scene?
- Command and Control at the scene, Incident Commander
- Guide to Best Practice. USA NFPA 921 & 1033 and UK Procedures
- Classification of Fire; Fire Prevention & Risk Assessment
- Building Construction & Design & Fire/Emergency Evacuation Plans
- Case Study
Incident Indicators and Cause Determination
- What is the origin and cause of the fire
- Structures
- Vehicles
- Explosions
- Accidental Fire Causes
- Basic Principles of Electricity and Electrical Fires
- Cigarette-caused Fires
- Case Study
Fire Investigation in Action
- Conducting the Investigation
- How to collect, preserve and report evidence. Consider the use of Trained Fire
- Investigator Dog Teams
- Observations When Approaching the Scene
- Observations upon Arrival
- Observations during Firefighting Operations
- Accurately sketch a fire scene
- Understand proper methods for photographing a fire scene
- Fire Investigator Responsibility – Questionnaire
- Types of Evidence
- Direct
- Circumstantial
- Evidence Handling
- Chain of Evidence
- Courtroom Evidence
Human Behaviour in Fires
- Evacuations
- Alarm Response
- Witness Interviews
- Death Investigations
- Sociological and cultural factors
- Potential Psychological Issues in Fire Investigations
- Case Study
Assessment Process, Evaluation, Reports and Records
- Phases of Fire Incident Assessment
- Initial Assessment
- Detailed Assessment
- Final Evaluation and Reporting
- Safety Considerations in Assessment
- Preparing the Fire Incident Report – what is required
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Coordinate efforts with other organizations in Preparing for Court
- Subpoena witnesses, property owners/occupants to obtain sworn testimony
- Prosecution and Defense Techniques, Testifying in Court Cases
- Testifying as an Expert Witness
- Review of the course