Chapter 23 Fire Investigations Flashcards
Describe types of evidence.
Physical
circumstantial
hear say
(needs to be confirmed in the precis)
How can Firefighters help in preserving valuable evidence?
▪ Minimizing the amount of personnel entering the building; particularly
suspected areas of origin.
▪ Note difficult-to-extinguish hot-spots, unusual burn patterns or charring,
unusual odors, or containers found in debris.
▪ Note possible accidental causes of ignition; wiring, appliances, heaters,
furnaces, etc. Do not disturb or remove these items or related debris.
Protect the area, “banner-guard” if necessary, and inform investigators.
Leave switches and controls in the position you found them.
▪ Do not disturb or remove human remains unless absolutely necessary. If
remains are moved, it is important to note the exact position in the room
relative to furniture and position of limbs. Also note the condition and
position of clothing and type of clothing.
Describe the role and relationship of FireFighters, criminal investigators, and insurance
investigators in fire investigation
The role of the Fire Investigation Branch is to investigate every fire in the City of
Edmonton that results in property damage, and\or injury, and \ or death, to determine the
origin, cause and circumstances of the fire. The role of EFRS personnel (firefighters) is to
preserve evidence and report all observations to the fire investigator.
Describe the effects and problems associated with removing property or evidence from the scene.
loss of scene continuity and firefighters are tied up in the chain of custody or into legal proceedings (paraphrased from the precis)
Describe obvious signs of origin and cause.
- Watch for signs of
accelerants or other items or acts that may indicate the fire was
deliberately set, such as trailers of flammable liquids, paper toweling, newspaper, wax
paper, etc. Watch for multiple fires that are non-connecting. - Holes and openings deliberately made in walls, floors & ceilings that would assist in
spreading the fire. - Windows and other openings are blocked or covered to avoid detection of fire.
- Have drawers to desks or dressers been pulled out? Closet doors left open? Contents
exposed to facilitate burning? - Have auto-close mechanisms on fire doors and separations been tampered with to prevent
operation?
Explain techniques for the preservation of fire cause evidence.
Keep all persons, including property owners and occupants, out of the building
until investigation is completed. Try to limit fire personnel movement once the fire is out.
On average how many deliberately set fires are there a year and how many fires do investigators go to
On average, just over 1,000 deliberately set fires
are investigated per year. EFRS investigators go to over 2000 fires per year.
What is the role of the Fire Investigation Branch
The role of the Fire Investigation Branch is to investigate every fire in the City of
Edmonton that results in property damage, and\or injury, and \ or death, to determine the
origin, cause and circumstances of the fire. The role of EFRS personnel (firefighters) is to
preserve evidence and report all observations to the fire investigator.
What are four ways Emergency Response Personnel can assist Investigators in preserving valuable physical
evidence and indicators
- Minimizing the amount of personnel entering the building; particularly suspected
areas of origin. - Note difficult-to-extinguish hot-spots, unusual burn patterns or charring, unusual
odors, or containers found in debris. - Note possible accidental causes of ignition; wiring, appliances, heaters, furnaces, etc.
Do not disturb or remove these items or related debris. Protect the area,
“banner-guard” if necessary, and inform investigators. Leave switches and controls
in the position you found them. - Do not disturb or remove human remains unless absolutely necessary. If remains
are moved, it is important to note the exact position in the room relative to furniture
and position of limbs. Also note condition and position of clothing and type of
clothing.
Investigators are required to attend to any one of these 3 events
- Whenever there has been property damage due to a fire.
- Injury due to a fire.
- Death due to a fire.
(“fire” being defined as open and sustained flaming combustion)
What should you do if you’re unsure if an investigator is required
If in doubt about whether investigators are required, do not hesitate to contact them at the
office, on-air or through Dispatch.
When should the Incident commander request police assistance and when should they not
The Incident Commander should request police for fire-operations related needs; traffic, crowd
control or perimeter security when needed. The Incident Commander should not involve police
relative to fire cause or circumstances without first discussing with fire investigators or in the
event investigators will be delayed in responding.
What must fire crews do if there is suspicion of arson
If there is suspicion that a crime may have been committed (arson /deliberately set fire), B
& E, etc.), crews MUST remain on scene until the arrival of Investigators or Police to
ensure proper continuity of the scene.
What should be included in a notebook to help you remember a fire?
▪ Your notes can include rough diagrams or sketches of the building or
things you saw;
▪ Note the date, time, location and event number
▪ Weather conditions
▪ Name, address, phone and position of persons you talk to
▪ Your activities in chronological order
▪ Security of building, windows & doors
▪ Any doors, windows, etc. that you participated in forcing to gain entry
▪ Relevant firsthand information about the event and firefighting operations
▪ Keep your note-book work-related. No doodling or unrelated information
should be entered.
▪ Keep your notebooks secured at the workplace for at least seven years.
Which fires do not require fire investigators to investigate?
▪ When there has only been smoke damage resulting from domestic fires.
(damper closed in the fireplace, burnt roast in the oven, etc.)
▪ Events where there has been forced entry by fire crews, but there is no fire
damage.
▪ Events where fire suppression equipment has activated, but there is no fire
(accidental sprinkler system activation)
▪ Where fire has originated, and damage is confined to electrical equipment.
(furnace motors, breaker panels) unless sustained combustion has occurred
and other combustibles are involved.
▪ Grass or brush fires, if damage does not involve anything other than the
grass or brush.*
▪ Commercial waste containers or residential garbage bins if fire does not
damage anything else.*
List some of the things that a firefighter should take note of upon arrival at the
scene.
▪ Type of building and its use; (commercial\office, converted
warehouse\condo, rooming house).
▪ Location of building in block, direction it faces, height & type of
construction.
▪ Is the building occupied or not?
▪ Direction you approached the building.
▪ Vehicle tracks or footprints. Note and protect.
▪ Size of fire on arrival, rate of spread, direction of spread.
▪ Venting flames from any windows or openings upon arrival?
▪ Note Occupants, bystanders, witnesses or any suspicious persons:
List some other agencies that the fire investigator may work with.
▪ Police,
▪ The RCMP
▪ Laboratory, technical experts & engineers,
▪ Building and Electrical Inspectors,
▪ The Provincial Fire Commissioner’s Office,
▪ Medical Examiner,
▪ The Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau
▪ The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
Where does the authority to conduct a fire investigation come from?
▪ Provincial legislation; the Alberta Fire Code & the Safety Codes Act
What is an ordinary combustible present at a fire that is often mistaken as an accelerant and why
Research today confirms that ordinary combustibles normally
present can produce carbon monoxide which can be seen burning as a blue
flame. In the past, blue flames often led personnel to believe an accelerant was
present.
