FIRE SCENE EVIDENCE PRESERVATION INSTRUCTORS MANUAL SAMPLE ONLY REFERENCE MATERIAL Kirks Fire Investigation Sixth Edition (ISBN 0-13-171922-X) U.S. Department of Justice, NIJ Research Report, Fire and Arson Scene Evidence National Fire Protection Association NFPA 921(2008) Instructor Note: Red borders indicate video clip. Yellow borders indicate fly-ins. Do not copy Page 1
The objectives of each Part of this program are defined. Depending on where the client is located the statistics can be from National, State, Province, or local jurisdictions. Local statistics can be included upon request. In previous slides a case study of a tire store fire is presented. Students discuss what agencies will be involved in the investigation and what other agencies have a vested interest in the investigation. This slide provides a recap of the involved agencies and those with a vested interest. There are few professional arsonists but they do exist. Arsonists who set fires repeatedly are referred to as serial fire setters. A serial arsonist is involved in three or more separate fire setting episodes with a cooling off period between fires. This period may last day s weeks or even years. Serial arson is the most serious type of arson do to random selection of victims and unpredictable gaps between incidents. Serial arson is not a separate or distinct motive for fire setting it is a pattern of fire setting frequently encountered in revenge, excitement or extremist motivated arson. Do not copy Page 2
This slide follows a group discussion about a gasoline vapor fire. The owner s story is that he was using gasoline to wash paint brushes while smoking a cigarette which ignited the gasoline vapors. This scenario is extremely unlikely due to the fire triangle. Ask the students if the doors were open or closed at the time of the fire. The doors were closed because the door rail is clean. This area was protected because the door was in the closed position. Some students will say the doors were open based on the smoke movement pattern above the door opening. The smoke line of demarcation on door panels is higher on the left than the right suggesting that the point of origin may be toward the right inside the building. As stated in the previous slide this also gives the investigator a good indication of the possible area of origin. The point of origin in this photo is also obvious and another point of interest the plastic bottle on the mantel. It has been distorted by the heat from the fire and is pointing to the point of origin the sofa. It is a valuable indicator to the investigator so firefighter s curiosity should be curbed to leave such items as is. Do not copy Page 3
As prescribed by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 921) fires are categorized as one of four causes in the final conclusion: Accidental Natural Incendiary Undetermined Fire fighters may see the fire activity at the point of origin and can describe it. They may have to tear down a wall during overhaul but should be able to recall its appearance. They may have to remove furniture but should be able to recall its original location which will help during scene reconstruction. The photo on the right flies in after you ask the participants if the door was locked or unlocked. The second photo shows that the door was in the unlocked position at the time of the fire. Do not copy Page 4
Show this slide and ask the students what would cause a burn pattern like this. This was caused by a liquid accelerant which was the material first ignited. Firefighters are well protected when they enter a fire scene. A great deal of research has gone into exposures firefighters face during suppression. Very little research has gone into post fire exposure hazards. There is a real need to wear personal protective equipment suitable to the hazard present. Anyone allowed to enter the scene to assist in the investigation should also be adequately protected. In this case an electrical inspector. Do not copy Page 5
This was a hotel fire that occurred within a month of another hotel fire that was determined to be deliberately set by a well known gang. There was concern that this may have been another deliberate fire connected to the earlier hotel fire. Gasoline was the accelerant in the earlier fire. Is it safe to enter this building? No. Visual inspection confirms collapse potential. The next slide shows the rear of the hotel. There are obvious signs of potential collapse. Often the junior firefighter is left at the scene after suppression to provide security. Are they trained to do this? As a young firefighter I was left at a scene and I assumed my role was to make sure the fire was out and to check for hot spots. The owner came by and asked if he could go into the house to get some personal things which I readily agreed to considering he was the owner. While the owner was inside the fire investigator came along and seeing someone inside asked me who it was. I told him it was the owner and he chastised me for allowing entry into the scene. It turned out the owner had set the fire and was trying to retrieve evidence of his actions. The moral of the story is that security personnel deserve to be trained so they understand what is expected of them. Do not copy Page 6
Investigators understand the need for overhaul to ensure the fire is out and remains so. During the overhaul process however firefighters often inadvertently remove, change and even destroy evidence. Anything that can be done to preserve the scene and minimize moving items located in the Area of Origin of the fire assists with the investigation. It is interesting however on the left they stopped as soon as the observed the fire had not gone past the wall stud indicated by the yellow arrow but on the other side indicated by the red arrow they just kept going. Why? What clearance distance is required for this type of chimney? The minimum clearance would be 18. What clearance is present? Do not copy Page 7
Part 5 Deals with identifying and preserving evidence at the scene. It is important for firefighters to understand what potential evidence is and what they can do to preserve it. This Part goes on to describe various common burn patterns and their relationship to the investigation. Demonstrative evidence is any tangible items you can see, touch and smell includes maps photos and sketches. Documentary evidence is anything written such as receipts, business records, invoices etc. Testimonial evidence is spoken evidence given under oath. This is a Molotov cocktail found in a restraint fire. Note it even says cocktail on it. Ask the students how this could be protected and discuss the need to leave it in place and not touch it unless it is going to be destroyed if left in place. Do not copy Page 8
Students should be aware that red plastic gasoline cans may change color completely in a fire. Some turn to a whitish yellow color. What should a firefighter do if they discover this? Notify Incident Command Cover it to warn others Notify the fire investigator etc. The dry baked appearance of the ceiling is evidence which indicates that there was a substantial heat buildup during this fire. Notice the movement pattern coming from the open door to the left which was the room of origin of the fire. The unusual pattern seen in this photo is actually the result of two points of origin. The original fire started on the desk and hot embers fell to the floor causing a drop fire. The drop fire created its own V pattern which overlapped the first pattern caused by the fire on the desk. Do not copy Page 9
Is the pattern on this flooring a result of a burning liquid accelerant or radiant heat? The pattern was caused by radiant heat from above. The floor was protected from radiant heat by the chair. Would the chair be there after normal suppression? Would firefighters be able to put the chair back where it came from? The previous slide in the presentation is a video of the actual fire showing radiant heat causing the damage to the flooring material. Light bulbs of greater than 25 watts are filled with an inert gas which expands when heated. The side of the bulb facing the heat source will distend. Part 6 deals with vapor explosions usually resulting from propane or natural gas but may be cause by other flammable liquid vapors such as gasoline. This part also deals with vehicle fires which represent a significant portion of all fires and present their own safety issues. Wildland fire investigation is also discussed in this Part. Do not copy Page 10
Motor vehicle fires represent a large portion of all fires but often undergo limited investigation. In many cases vehicle fires are set to defraud the insurance company and are sometimes viewed as victimless. Each time an insurance company pays a claim however it is reflected the rates all of us pay for insurance coverage so it is far from victimless. Wildland Urban interface fires have be occurring for generations often with devastating consequences. We have all heard of the fire in California and Florida which destroyed hundreds if not thousands of homes and other property and have killed a number of firefighters. Investigations are conducted to identify the cause and firefighters play a vital role in the successful determination. Do not copy Page 11
Fire incidents often lead to legal proceedings which may involve criminal charges, coroner s inquests or inquiries and or civil suites to determine financial liability. In many cases the legal procedures commence months or even years after the event. How will a firefighter remember the event or what actions and observations they made at the scene if they do not record them? They can be used as floor plans to show the layout of the building. If you use abbreviations they should be accompanied with a Legend. Legend: P of O Point of Origin A of O Area of Origin The media is a valuable resource who can quickly disseminate your information to the public or ask for assistance from the public. The public is interested in fires and other emergency events and the media will report them with or without information from the fire service. By working with the media the fire service can have input into the information being released. Do not copy Page 12