Fire Investigation Protocol Flashcards
Fire Service and Police - MoU
Both agencies want to ensure that in determining the origin and cause of fires:
- investigation 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.
Fire Investigation Liaison Officers (FILOs)
FILOs 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 fire scenes where required;
- maintaining effective working relationships with the relevant Fire Service Investigation Liaison Officer (FSILO) and Fire Service Specialist Fire Investigators;
- assisting areas or districts with fire investigation-related queries;
- ensure communication is maintained with the Police National Fire Investigation Co-ordinator, Police District Intelligence Manager and District Manager Criminal Investigations, where appropriate;
- co-ordinating fire investigation training for any Police employees within the area or district, where neede
- providing other advice and expertise as required.
Deputy FILOs may take on some of these responsibilities where districts consider this necessary.
Specialist Fire Investigators
Typically possess extensive experience in firefighting and fire safety and have received specialised training and assessment in fire investigation techniques.
They 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 buildings where built-in fire safety features have failed, or not performed to known or expected standards;
- structure fires of 3rd alarm equivalent (at least six appliance) or greater, that may have a significant regional or national consequence; and
- any other fire, upon request from Police or another agency.
A minimum of two Specialist Fire Investigators will be called to attend and support an investigation, where any fire-related fatality or life-threatening injury has occurred.
Fire Service Investigation Liaison Officers (FSILO)
FSILOs have responsibility for:
- arranging Fire Service Specialist Fire Investigator attendance at fire scenes where requested by Police;
- establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with relevant Police Fire Investigation Liaison Officers (FILOs), in the respective Police districts/areas.
Fire scene control, notification and handover
1
The Fire Service has authority over a fire scene while a fire is in progress. Once a fire is extinguished and any threat to life or property no longer exists, the Fire Service must hand the scene of the fire over to the appropriate person or agency. In certain circumstances, this will be Police.
2
The Fire Service will notify Police if it considers that a fire may have been deliberately lit, or if it considers the cause of a fire is suspicious. The Fire Service will also notify Police of all incidents where fatalities or serous (life threatening) injuries occur.
3
Where Police attend a fire scene and seek authority over that fire scene, the designated Police Investigating Officer will confer with the Incident Controller to confirm the handover process.
4
The Fire Service will not normally handover a fire scene until the danger of fire, structural collapse, exposure to dangerous products of combustion or other fire related hazards have been identified and eliminated, isolated or minimised.
5
For any fire scene involving multiple agencies, all agencies will consult with each other prior to any investigation or scene examination to develop an investigation plan.
6
The investigation plan will include an outline of how the investigation will proceed and the role of each agency.
Fire scene examination and investigation
Where Police command a fire scene, any access to that scene by Fire Service personnel is at the discretion of Police.
Any multi-agency fire scene examination will be conducted using a co-ordinated approach. The Fire Service will provide a Specialist Fire Investigator (and in some circumstances a Senior SFI) and Police will supply a FILO in the event of a multi-agency fire scene examination.
The Specialist Fire Investigator will liaise with the designated Fire Investigation Liaison Officer (where applicable) or other member of Police in relation to these matters:
- handover of the fire scene
- access to the fire scene
- process for examination and investigation
- identification and collection of evidence at the fire scene.
The Specialist Fire Investigator will conduct an independent investigation into the origin and cause of the fire.
Police responsibility
The Police must:
- conduct the criminal investigation or coronial enquiry
- undertake responsibility for the protection, collection and recording of forensic evidence.
The collection and removal of material from a fire crime scene will only be done by Police or other agencies with the authority to remove items.
The preservation, analysis and subsequent disposition of any such material is the responsibility of Police or other agency with the appropriate authority.
