Fire scene control, notification and handover

Question 1

Stage 1

Answer 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.

Question 2

Stage 2

Answer 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 serious (life threatening) injuries occur.

Question 3

Stage 3

Answer 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.

Question 4

Stage 4

Answer 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.

Question 5

Stage 5

Answer 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 role of each agency.

Question 6

Stage 6

Answer 6

The investigation plan will include an outline of how the investigation will proceed and the role of each agency