Chapter 18 – fire caused determination Flashcards
A fire investigator should be called when a ………occurs.
Death or serious burn injury occurs
If the cause of the fire was deliberate, a ……….. has occurred and must be fully investigated
Crime
What is the flammable liquid choice of arsonist?
Gasoline
Because determining the cause and origin of a fire serves a compelling public interest, the ………..requirement does not apply to such cases.
Warrant
- No search warrant is needed when fighting a fire or remaining on the scene for a reasonable period of time to determine the cause of a fire and any evidence is admissible under the plain view doctrine
- Administrative search warrants are needed for reentry that is not in a continuation of a valid search when the purpose is to determine the cause of the fire.
- In criminal search warrant is needed when reentry is not a continuation of a valid search and the purpose is to gain evidence for prosecution
Provisions related to the process that were clarified in court case Michigan versus Taylor
An officer who conducts a preliminary fire caused investigation and suspects that a crime has occurred should immediately request the response of a ……………
Fire investigator
The fire officer must ensure that the fire department personnel maintain ……… of the scene until the investigator arrives
Custody
Tangible items that can be identified by witnesses, such as incendiary devices in fire scene debris
Demonstrated evidence
Evidence in written form, such as reports, records, photographs, sketches, and witness statements
Documentary evidence
Witnesses speaking Underoath
Testimonial evidence
The first step in fire cause determination is to identify the………
Point of origin
The exact location where a heat source and fuel come in contact with each other. It is usually determined by examining fire damage and fire pattern evidence at the fire scene
Point of origin
Often, the point of a ……shaped pattern is near or at the point of a fire origin.
As fire burns up against a wall, it spreads up and out creating this pattern
V-shaped
Before declaring a fire cause as incendiary or intentional, all accidental causes must be ……….
Considered and eliminated
After all investigative possibilities have been exhausted, if two or more potential causes remain, the cause of the fire is considered……….
Undetermined
According to the US fire administration …….% of vehicle fires were caused by mechanical failure or malfunction.
47%
Make note of the make, model, and year of the vehicle as well as the ………… . This allows for a review of previous fires that have occurred in vehicles of the same make model and year.
Vehicle identification number
VIN
Fires burn uphill very ………., But they do burn downhill and a slower rate.
Rapidly
Any fire that is deliberately ignited under circumstances in which the person knows that the fire should not be ignited
Incendiary fire cause
NFPA number for fire and explosion investigations
NFPA 921
Most frequent ignition cause in residential fires is………
Unattended cooking
Chemical composition that results in a gradual lowering of the ignition temperature of wood until auto ignition occurs.
Pyrolysis
If the buildings electrical system is involved, the surge usually fuses or melts the main ………..
Main fuses or circuit breakers
The crime of maliciously intentionally or recklessly starting a fire or causing an explosion
Arson
Incendiary fire Is one that is intentionally started when the person knows it should not be started, but is not necessarily arson
Agents used to ignite a fire or increase the rate of growth
Accelerants
Ignitable liquid fuel fires often leave distinct burn in shower patterns
Materials used to spread a fire from one area of a structure to another, causing a fire to grow more quickly.
Trailers
Six motives for arson:
- Profit
- Crime concealment
- Excitement
- Spite/revenge
- Extremism
- Vandalism
Most often, the plan behind arson committed for profit is to…………
Collect insurance money
NFPA standard for professional qualifications for fire investigator
NFPA 1033
Whose primary responsibility is it to develop a properly documented case and, if needed, to forward it to the prosecutor?
Investigator
Cooking caused what percentage of home structure fires?
42%
Heating caused what percentage of home structure fires?
17%
Which supreme court case gave fire departments the right to not only extinguishing the fires but finding their cause?
Michigan vs Tyler (1978)
Typically, 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 as long as the evidence is?
In Plain view of the investigator
Michigan vs Clifford (1984)
When is a search warrant or consent required at a fire, for any further search?
After the cause and origin of a fire have both been determined
The fire officer must ensure that the fire department personnel maintain custody of the scene until who arrives?
Investigator
What is the investigator’s ultimate goal?
Identify the point of origin and cause of the fire
Who is the first step in the chain of evidence that is vital to successful prosecution of arson cases?
The fire officer
What is the first step in fire caused determination?
Identify the point of origin
How can the point of origin be identified?
Interpreting fire patterns
Located at or near the point of origin, the _____ is the energy source that caused the material to ignite.
Source of ignition
Scientific process of examining a fire occurrence to determine all of the relevant facts, including the origin, cause, and subsequent development of the fire, as well as to identify the responsibility for whatever occurred.
Fire analysis
What refers to the nature of the material itself?
Type of material
What tells how the material is used?
Ex. Roles of cotton thread
Form of material
Interview information must be documented. An alternative is to _____ the witness statement with a tape recorder or video camera
Record
Fire departments respond to more _____ fires than structure fires
Vehicle fires
How many large or significant wildfires were reported in 2012
How many _____?
How many acres burned?
1270 large or significant fires
7774 wildfires burned 9,326,239 acres
What is the second most common cause in residential fires
Smoking materials
What is the third leading cause of residential fires, with two primary ignition causes being in proper maintenance and combustibles located too close to the heating device?
Heating
The fire officer needs to eliminate both accidental and ______ before making a determination of an incendiary cause
Natural causes
How many estimated intentional fires were set between 2005 in 2009
306,3000 Intentional fires
How many deaths and how much property damage was caused by intentional fires between 2005 and 2009
440 deaths and
$1.3 billion property damage
How many structure fires were deliberately set or suspected of being deliberately set?
53,700 Structure fires
What has the highest rate of youth involvement when compared with all other crimes?
Arson
All fires must be properly documented and reported according to the fire department’s _______?
Standard procedures
Which two tactical operations should be coordinated with the fire investigator?
Overhaul and salvage operations
