Chapter 18 Flashcards
The fire officer should be able to
determine a point of origin and cause pr probable cause of most fires
NFPA 1033
Standard for Professional qualifications for fire investigator
Michigan v Tyler 1978
Fire officials are charged not only with extinguishing fires, but with finding their cause
Michigan v Clifford 1984
No search warrant is needed to enter a fire scene and collect evidence when the fire department remains on scene for a reasonable length of time to determine the cause of the fire and as long as the evidence is in plain view for the investigator
Evidence
includes material objects as well as documentary or oral statements that are admissible as testimony in a court of law
Demonstrative evidence
Tangible items that can be identified by witness, such as incendiary devices and fire scene debris
Documentary Evidence
Evidence in written form, such as reports, records, photographs, sketches and witness statements
Testimonial evidence
Witness speaking under oath
The investigators ultimate goal is
to identify the point of organ and the cause of the fire
NFPA 921
Guide for fie and explosion investigations
Point of origin
is the exact physical location where a heat source and a fuel com in contact with each other
A fire investigator usually starts in
the area where the least amount of damage occurred and follows the patterns back towards the area of greatest fire damage
Depth of char is
only one indicator of the apparent duration and intensity of a fire
A competent ignition source has three components
Generation
The ignition source must produce sufficient heat energy to raise the fuel to its ignition temperature
A competent ignition source has three components
Transmission
Sufficient heat energy must be transmitted from the source to the fuel to raise the fuel to its ignition temperature. Heat can be transferred through conduction, convection or radiation
A competent ignition source has three components
Heating
The heat transfer from the source to the fuel must continue long enough for the fuel to be heated to its ignition temperature
The first Objective in most vehicle fire investigations is
to look for indications of arson
The most frequent ignition cause in residential fires is
un-attended cooking.
second most common cause is smoking materials
Heating is third
Accelerants
are agents used to initiate a fire or increase the rate of growth
Trailers
are materials used to spread a fire from one area of a structure to another, causing a fire to grow more quickly
There are six basic motives for arson
Profit- insurance money
Crime concealment- destroy evidence of crime
Excitement- seeking thrills/attention/recognition
Spite/revenge- triggered by hatred/jealousy/emotions
Extremism- Monetary loss to the person/business/ bring attention to a cause. Incendiary devices a re frequently used
Vandalism- simply to cause damage
