Fire Investigation

Question 1

Fire investigation terminology

Answer 1

Cause - the event or events that acted to start the fire.
Origin - a point at which the fire started.
ROO - Room or origin.
AOO - Area of origin. Within a section of a room.
POO - Point of origin. The exact point at which the fire started.
MOU - Memorandum of understanding. Formal document outlining overall responsibility for fire investigation and processes of collaboration.
Burn Patterns - the fire leaves tell tail signs that can indicate directionally of fire and origin.

Question 2

Why investigate fires

Answer 2

Compilation of statistics.
Gathering evidence of suspicious circumstances.
Reporting of dangerous practises and faults.

Question 3

Firefighters can assist station officers with their post fire investigations by

Answer 3

Providing information regarding any suspicious circumstances observed.
Describing the fire growth and spread to assist in cause determination.

Question 4

What are contemporaneous notebooks for

Answer 4

For recording notes after or within a reasonable timeframe of an incident. Can be written, sketches or diagrams and must be signed and dated.
These notes can be called as evidence in court proceeding and are considered more factual than memory.

Question 5

Things to consider in contemporaneous notes

Answer 5

Incident information including incident number, dates and times.
Crew disposition.
Observations.
Your actions.
Any conversation with bystanders.

Question 6

What not to write in contemporaneous notes

Answer 6

Things you haven’t observed.
Things other firefighters observed or did.
Your theory on how fires may have started.

Question 7

V-pattern burns

Answer 7

Fire generally travels upwards and outwards, leaving in the absence of barriers or unusual fire conditions a V-shaped or conical pattern in the structure is left behind.

Question 8

How should investigators search

Answer 8

Search from least to most damaged.

Question 9

Clean burns

Answer 9

When a non-combustible surface is exposed to soot and the products of combustion and the surface is heated these materials can be burnt off leaving a clean burn.

Question 10

Liquid accelerant patterns

Answer 10

Indicators of an incendiary fire or arson can lead fire investigators to look for the presence of accelerants in fire debris. Accelerants present in areas they should not be can be indicate an incendiary fire or arson.

Question 11

Indicators of arson

Answer 11

Ready availability of fuel.
Proper ventilation.
Reliable ignition.

Question 12

Reason for arson

Answer 12

To be a hero.
Revenge.
Entertainment.