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With fires being set at an estimated
rate of more than two per minute across North America, it is one of
the fastest growing and costliest crimes being committed. It is
also one of the hardest to investigate and to prove, even when the
suspect is the owner of the premises having suffered the damage.
However, when nearly 85% of North American properties are covered by
volunteer Fire Departments, and they are able to turn out people and
equipment such as that shown in photo #1  above, there is a definite
responsibility placed upon the fire investigator to accurately
determine the fire cause.
It has
been my experience that too many investigators simply want to do a
walk through, take a few photos, and call the fire cause as
undetermined. I know of a fire scene that was ruled as
electrical without there even being any electric power feed to the
premise.
There is
also a prevailing attitude in this country that fire fighting
personnel should be the investigators of fires, even in areas of
volunteer Fire Departments. Yet, it is first and foremost a
potential crime scene, especially after the fire chief on scene has
ruled the cause as questionable or even definitely a criminal
matter. By any definition of forensic matters, a crime scene
is a police responsibility. |
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Second, a
potential arson scene contains physical evidence, and that requires
forensic physical evidence investigators who are trained in fire
scenes. Yet for years I have seen responsibilities and
requests for adequate training for this type of investigator
shirked by Police management despite the fact that a fire may be
valued in the many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Somehow, a
cottage break & enter valued at less than one hundred dollars does
not deserve the same response, yet it can and has received more
attention. A fire scene nearly always requires experience,
time, and a lot of hard work, as shown by the floor clearing job
being done in photo #3. If the job is done correctly, and if
one knows what one is looking for and can read the signs, the scene
will tell its story.
Credible books abound on the subject matter and courses are
available to anyone who qualifies. But the mindset of the
investigator is also a key element in uncovering the fire cause.
Like all forms of physical evidence, analysis and comparison of the
physical evidence come first and second, while the evaluation of
all the evidence is the third element of the ACE-V process, keeping
in mind that the results must be verifiable by ones peers.
The
following link provides information regarding short circuited wires
and Auger Electron
Spectroscopy. |
