Fire investigation is a highly complex study of the factors that caused a blaze. It combines several key areas, including exploration of the area, an eye for detail, and science. While it might seem that fires are caused by mysterious circumstances, fire investigation gets down to the root cause, ensuring that the same situation doesn’t happen again.
Whether fire investigation is something you’d like to consider for a future career or you’re simply interested, this guide will help you understand more. You’ll be able to answer the question ‘what is fire investigation,’ and you’ll appreciate the common challenges that investigators face on a daily basis. In the end, you’ll see how Blaze Stack makes the entire process easier, more accurate, and a whole lot more efficient.
The term ‘fire investigation’ only tells a small part of the story. In essence, it is the investigation of the cause and origin of a fire, therefore understanding why a blaze began. To do this, a careful and detailed approach is required, as well as a complex understanding of fire science.
The main focus of fire investigation is to understand a fire’s source of ignition and how it progressed. Various tools, methods, and activities are used to identify this information.
At its very core, fire investigation is a forensic science focused on incidents involving fire. The end goal is to understand the cause and origin of a blaze, therefore ensuring the same situation doesn’t recur in the future.
When understanding what is fire investigation, it’s important to note that this is a complex and detailed practice that requires a high level of expertise.
Fire investigation covers both intentional fires and those that occurred by accident. It also covers many locations, including industrial, commercial, and residential buildings and sites. So, whether a fire occurs in a home or a building site, fire investigations will help to determine the cause.
By identifying the origin and cause of a blaze, fire investigation ensures the prevention of future incidents occurring in the same way. Additionally, it can help to inform new safety guidelines and standards, while also holding to account those responsible for starting the fire in the first place.
In many cases, fire investigation can help to build a criminal case which brings forth charges of arson, if a fire is started deliberately. It can also contribute toward civil liability litigation when a fire begins not intentionally but as a result of negligence. This is particularly the case in commercial buildings.
In terms of intentional incidents, fire investigation is invaluable in holding perpetrators to account. In 2019, 33,395 cases of arson were reported by US law enforcement agencies. Fire investigation will have played a huge role in ensuring those people were charged accordingly.
You might be wondering why fire investigation is necessary if a blaze began accidentally. Fire investigation isn’t only useful from a legal point of view but it’s also helpful from an insurance standpoint. If a fire begins in a home in particular, a thorough investigation helps to inform the insurance company regarding what happened. From that, claims can be settled or contested in terms of whether coverage is provided and, if so, compensation will be paid.
Additionally, an in-depth fire cause and analysis helps to prevent future incidents, therefore giving peace of mind and additional safety to homeowners and businesses.
A fire investigation is an in-depth process that covers several steps. The story begins at the scene of the fire as soon as it is safe to enter the building. This is the initial scene assessment and from there, the process continues until the final report is generated.
Let’s explore the key steps in more detail.
Investigators will enter the scene as soon as it is safe to do so. During this initial scene assessment, preliminary information is gathered which forms the basis of the investigation.
An important part of the initial scene investigation is to ensure the safety of the building. If the scene is deemed unsafe and may collapse, investigators can then put into place further safety measures to keep surrounding structures and residents safe.
If the building is deemed unsafe, it will be secured prior to the continuation of the investigation. At every point, the safety of investigators is paramount and they will wear safety clothing, a helmet, and goggles at all times inside the building.
Careful steps are taken to ensure that any potential evidence from the scene is preserved. In a fire situation, it’s easy for items to become contaminated with smoke and dirt, or even destroyed. To this aim, evidence is photographed, carefully removed, and sealed in marked containers to ensure smoke and other vapors don’t affect its integrity. These boxes are marked with the word ‘evidence’ and handled with extreme care.
If there are any witnesses to the fire, including before, during, or after, a statement should be taken from them. This information can help to give investigators insights into how the fire progressed, what might have started it, and if any suspicious behavior was noticed before or during the event. Such information may not automatically be clear from physical evidence and could give the investigators a head start on their detective work.
The next step is to identify where the fire began, also known as the point of origin. This not only gives important information in terms of insurance and potential litigation, but it helps to give further weight to understanding what caused the fire. Origin and cause work together to create a full picture of the circumstances surrounding the blaze,
At this point, investigators look for important signs such as smoke staining, any structural damage, or burn patterns. This investigation gives clues about the point of origin and may point to the reason for the fire.
A good example is a fire in Bucks County in June of this year. From the fire investigation and visual indicators at the scene, it was ruled that the fire was a result of arson. Without an investigation, the reason for this blaze may never have been established.
From all the information gathered this far, investigators can then start to understand the reason for the fire. Identifying the cause of the fire means pinpointing the ignition source and the conditions in the space immediately before the fire.
Determining the cause involves identifying the ignition source and understanding the conditions that led to the fire.
There are countless potential causes that may lead to a fire. Electrical faults are a big cause, but also extreme heat, open flames, and if there are any flammable liquids in the vicinity that could have combusted or had a chemical reaction.
However, one of the main causes of fire comes down to human action. This could be anything from deliberately starting a fire, e.g. arson, or an accident, such as leaving a pair of hair straighteners on or cooking and leaving the hob for a short while.
It’s vital to thoroughly document everything about the scene which can then be looked at later and pulled together to create a full picture of the event. The most common type of documentation is photographic, including images and videos.
In addition, a detailed written report is key to pulling all information together. Investigators may also create a detailed floor plan to help identify visually where the fire broke out.
Thorough documentation is essential for the investigation process and for later reference.
Visual documentation, such as photographs and videos, help to capture the scene in the most vivid way possible. This can also show positioning of evidence found alongside any other key details that help to create a full picture. Such documentation must be captured in its original place, e.g. evidence should not be removed from the site before being photographed.
If an investigator suspects arson, a range of tools and equipment will be used to help strengthen that case and prove without doubt that the fire was deliberate.
Once the investigator returns to their office, they will create a detailed written report outlining the findings from the scene. A report must include details of how the fire service were notified about the fire, what was found at the scene, ignition point, probable causes, and analysis of key data. The report should conclude with what the investigator believes to be the final cause.
Alongside photographic evidence, a written report can be used in the legal process to help bring perpetrators of arson to justice. This is a key battle, as many statistics show. In 2019, the average dollar loss was $16,371 per arson.
A fire investigation is a comprehensive review that requires the use of several high-tech pieces of equipment. These are used to assess and prove with as much certainty as possible what caused the fire. Let’s explore the most commonly used tools and techniques.
Forensic tools are used to carefully analyze the scene. The most common tools include infrared cameras, gas chromatographs, and even specially trained dogs. These tools help to examine the physical elements of the fire, which gives a huge amount of information in terms of whether it was deliberate or not.
For instance, gas chromatography is a very sophisticated art which allows investigators to separate compounds found in a fire scene and analyze them carefully. Accelerant detection dogs can detect even the smallest hint of an accelerant, such as gasoline or lighter fluid, therefore pointing to arson.
Scientific techniques are used to virtually reconstruct the fire. This information is vital in helping investigators understand how the fire started, how it behaved, spread, and therefore could point toward what caused it.
The main scientific techniques used include fire modeling, and material analysis. Let’s explore these.
Fire modeling involves a computer simulation of the fire to help investigators understand its behavior and how it progressed. This can be a valuable tool as investigators can consider various hypotheses, therefore ruling out false ideas and moving closer to the actual cause.
Materials found at the scene can be carefully removed and then analyzed in a laboratory to understand how they might have contributed to the fire. This analysis also helps investigators understand how these materials behaved when under the extreme heat of a fire.
Scientific and forensic tools play a vital role in helping to uncover the cause of a fire. This is even more important when you consider the cost of arson-related fires. The International Association of Arson Investigators state that fires started intentionally cost around $1 billion every year in property damage alone.
Fire investigations are dangerous and complex, and there are many challenges that stand in the way. This includes not only the potential damage or even destruction of important evidence, but the fact that fire rarely behaves in a predictable way.
All too often, large fires damage or even destroy key evidence that would allow an investigator to easily identify the cause. As a result, the entire process becomes much more difficult.
To minimize the risk of damaging key evidence, photographs are taken, and then the evidence is very carefully removed and placed in a sealed container to ensure the environment can no longer damage its integrity. This is then sealed and labeled as evidence.
Another key challenge many fire investigators face is evidence and clues obscured by structural damage or collapse, and burned materials. These can make the scene appear slightly different to how it is in reality. Forensic tools can be used in these situations to help overcome this challenge, while also looking for visual clues, such as smoke and burn patterns.
Without a doubt, the most unpredictable and complex part of identifying how a fire started is first understanding the behavior of the blaze. Fire is complex, different every single time, and its behavior relies heavily upon its environment, its cause, and any materials that are around it.
Investigators need to have very specialized knowledge of fire dynamics to be able to use this information as part of the puzzle.
Changes in ventilation can play a huge part in how the fire behaves and can also alter its direction, how much damage it causes, and the pattern it follows. For instance, if a part of the building collapses and the fire is exposed to fresh air, it may react differently to if it was completely contained within four walls.
A clear view of the building/structure and understanding what might have changed during the blaze can help investigators better understand the fire itself.
Understanding how fire spreads is the first basic step to understand how a blaze behaves under different circumstances. A fire will spread under conduction, convection, and radiation, also known as three methods of heat transfer. This also affects materials differently depending upon the circumstances. Ultimately, it plays a huge part in how the fire behaves and how much damage it ultimately causes.
Conduction occurs when fires spread between different materials. Convection is a dangerous type of heat transfer that often affects homes. As we know, heat rises, but when the fire is in an enclosed space, it hits the ceiling and then has nowhere to go. In that case, it moves horizontally, and spreads rapidly. Finally, radiation occurs when the heat travels through electromagnetic waves in the air. The heat will move horizontally and vertically until it finally hits a surface or material that it can burn into.
A detailed fire investigation helps to understand which type of heat transfer may have been responsible, therefore allowing investigators to better understand the fire’s behavior.
A fire investigation must be entirely fair and transparent, as investigators must navigate complex ethical and legal issues. This is especially the case in deliberate fires that will ultimately end in criminal charges.
Investigators must navigate legal and ethical issues, particularly in arson cases involving criminal proceedings. The final report must be clear and without reasonable doubt to avoid labeling a fire arson if it may not have been.
The chain of custody is an important aspect of a fire investigation. This is in place to ensure evidence is handled correctly, fairly, and cannot be tampered with in any way. From collecting, storing, and transporting any evidence, security must be robust and only authorized personnel should handle it. If any other individual needs to handle the evidence in any way, this must be documented clearly in the final report.
A chain of custody form tracks the passing of evidence from one person to another, including name, position, date, and time.
Clear and accurate reporting of findings from a fire investigation is a vital part of the process. This ultimately presents the findings and gives a clear conclusion, outlining what the investigator believes caused the fire. The clarity and accuracy of this report is essential for legal, safety, and insurance reasons.
A final report should be structured clearly, including an introduction outlining the initial assessment, the methodology used throughout the investigation, the findings, and final conclusions.
Each section should be detailed, accurate and clear, as it makes up the entire picture.
The introduction section literally introduces the situation to the reader. It outlines the incident and why the investigation was requested. It outlines the initial assessment, e.g. what the surface level findings, and talks about the scope of the investigation.
The introduction sets the stage for the rest of the report, creating an overview that leads to a well-structured and comprehensive document.
The next section covers the methods used during the investigation, as well as any tools utilized. This methodology section gives credibility to the report, outlining the investigative process in a transparent way.
The findings and analysis section is the bulk of the report. This is where details of evidence are presented (findings), before going on to talk about how this evidence was analyzed. The final part of this section draws conclusions based on these findings.
It goes without saying that this section must be as detailed as possible, accurate, and clear.
When documenting evidence from the scene, mention burn patterns, chemical residue, and any other eye aspects in detail. This will lead toward the conclusion, and give credibility to the final judgment.
The last part of the report provides a clear summary about the investigation before leading to the conclusion. This section gives recommendations on next steps, particularly safety measures to prevent future fires.
Recommendations appear in the final section to help prevent any further fires in the future and to improve safety in general. Recommendations should be based entirely on the investigation itself.
Throughout this comprehensive guide, we’ve delved into the finer details of fire investigations, helping you to understand the reason for it and exactly what happens throughout. We’ve talked about the challenges faced by investigators and the vital importance of clear and accurate reporting. Additionally, we’ve covered the steps of a full investigation, including the techniques and tools used.
Overall, a clear and accurate fire investigation is a vital step to help improve fire safety, while also ensuring that those who start fires deliberately are held to account.
A fire investigation is a vital tool for not only ensuring arsonists face justice, but also ensures fire safety. Fire investigators utilize many different tools to investigate the origins and cause of a fire, and with Blaze Stack, investigators can further ensure total accuracy and efficiency during this important process.
Whether you’re considering a career as a fire investigator or you’ve been in the job for several years, further developments in skills and focus can help to further boost the safety of your local community. With new technology emerging all the time, like Blazestacks’s case management software, we can look forward to a future with increased safety and better preventative measures.
