Arson (Fire And Explosive Investigation) Flashcards
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017
- you must prove ID of defendants and that they:
- unlawfully interfered with any fire alarm s88(1)(d) or
- knowingly covered up, enclosed or concealed any hydrant so as to make its position difficult to ascertain s88(1)(e) or
- knowingly obliterated or removed any mark, sign or letter used to indicate the position of, or to distinguish, any hydrant s88(1)(f) or
- with intent to deceive, impersonate a member of the fire service or a member of a volunteer fire brigade or defence fire brigade or industrial fire brigade s88(1)(g)
Penalty is a fine only, no power of arrest, summons only.
Doing dangerous act with intent (s198(1)(b)&(c)
You must prove ID and that they:
- sent or delivered to any person, or put in any place, any explosive or arduous substance or device or
- set fire to any property
- with intent to do GBH
Doing dangerous act with intent (s198(2)
You must prove ID and that they:
- with intent to injure, or
- with reckless disregard for the safety of others,
- did any of the acts referred to in the section 198(1)
The person in charge of the Fire Service at a fire is charged with the direction of operations.
(Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017)
These powers give them the right to:
- enter private property when it is on fire or endangered, or when entry is essential to performing a necessary duty
- close roads
- remove vehicles impeding the fire service. If necessary, then break into vehicles for that purpose.
- remove people who are in danger or interfering with operations, using reasonable force if necessary
- do anything else that is reasonably necessary for the protection of life and property
Police may exercise these powers if called upon to do so by the member of the fire service in charge of the fire. Police have no right to exercise these powers Simply because they are present at a fire.
Fire service and Police- MOU:
Both agencies use the MOU to ensure that in determining the origin and cause of fires:
- investigations of fire scenes by the fire service and the police are efficiently coordinated, and expertly and independently conducted; and
- any relevant evidence is protected and collected for potential criminal prosecutions or coronial enquiries
The fire service will notify the police if:
- a fire results in serious injury or death or;
- a fire Is considered suspicious
Police district Fire investigation Liaison officers have responsibility for:
- attending every fire that results in serious injury or death
- co ordinating fire investigations in their designated area or district
- arranging police attendance at scenes where required
- maintaining effective working relationships with the relevant FILOs and Fire Service specialist fire investigators
- assisting areas or districts with fire investigation related queries
- ensure communication between police national fire ILO police district intelligence manager snd DMCI
- co ordinate fire investigation training for police employees
Specialist Fire Investigators employed by the fire service, will be called to attend and investigate:
- fires where fatalities occur
- fires where serious, life threatening, fire related injury has occurred
- structure fires where the cause is suspicious or cannot be determined
- significant fire spread across a property boundary
- fires in building where safety features have failed or not performed to suspected standards
- any other fire, upon request from police or other agency
Fire scene, notification and handover
1) fire service has authority over a fire scene while a fire is in progress. Once it is extinguished, the fire service will hand the scene of the fire to the police
2) the fire service will notify police if it considers that a fire may have been deliberately lit or cause of fire may be suspicious. They will also notify police of all incidents where fatalities or serious injury occurs
3) where police attend a fire scene and seek authority over the scene, the police IO will liaise with the incident controller to confirm handover
4) fire will not hand over scent until the danger of fire, structural collapse, exposure to dangerous hazards have been eliminated and isolated
5) for any fire scenes involving multiple agencies, all will consult and develop an investigation plan
6) the investigation plan will include a outline of how the investigation will proceed
Injuries through hazards at a fire scene:
- inhalation of toxic substances eg car fires
- ingestion of particles
- cuts/wounds from sharp objects
- air borne dusts, particles
- tripping on debris
- items falling from above
Protective clothing worn by on scene investigators:
- a suitable helmet
- a pair of overalls
- nose and mouth filters, a full face respirator or full BA
- gloves
- safety glasses
- heavy duty footwear with steel soles and toe caps
Timber building material:
- will burn and char
- take note of thickness of structural members, the load is carrying
- any sound emanating from structural members
Steel building materials:
- unprotected steel will expand and can cause external and internal walls to be pushed out
- sufficient fuel will cause unprotected steel to lose strength, collapse
- when heated steel is cooled by fire hose, it may fall off supports or similar, remain in tact loosely but collapse with little or no movement
- pay particular attention to the location of steel beams and trusses
Concrete building materials:
- concrete slabs is the most unpredictable as it can be effected by extremely low fire temps
- concrete can break away at the surface,
- spalling is created when heat causes expansion of trapped moisture resulting in a steam explosion
Methods of setting fires:
- ignition of readily available combustible material eg rubbish
- candle is left to burn down into a pile of easily combustible material such as wood shavings soaked in accelerant
