Fire Cause and Origin

1
Fire Cause and Origin

• This course is designed to meet the Minimum
  Standards for Volunteer Fire Suppression
  Personnel, Section 21, Fire Cause and Origin.

2
Objectives Basic Level

• SFFMA Fire Cause and Origin, Basic
• 4 Hours
• The firefighter shall identify the roles and
  responsibilities of a firefighter in determining
  point of origin.
• The firefighter shall identify factors indicating
  the fire cause.
• The firefighter shall identify observations
  important to determining the events of a fire.

3
Objectives Advanced Level

• SFFMA Fire Cause and Origin, Basic
• 4 Hours
• The firefighter shall define the importance of
  securing a fire scene to prevent unwarranted
  access.
• The firefighter shall identify factors indicating
  arson.
• The firefighter shall identify the importance of
  protecting and securing evidence at a fire scene.

4
Roles and responsibilities of a firefighter in
determining point of origin
5
Why do We Investigate Fires?

• Occupant safety
• Statistics
• Common fire causes
• Help direct fire prevention efforts
• Identify product defects
• Detect and prosecute arson
• Control insurance premiums

6
Firefighters Responsibilities

• The responsibilities of the Firefighter begin
  when the alarm is received
• Your powers of observations are very valuable to
  the fire investigation

7
Observations En Route

• Time of Day
• Weather and Natural Hazards
• Man-made Barriers
• People leaving the scene

8
Observations Upon Arrival

• Time of arrival and extent of the fire.
• Wind direction and velocity.
• Doors or windows locked or unlocked.
• Location of the fire.
• Containers or cans.
• Burglary Tools
• Man-made barriers
• Familiar Faces

9
Observations During Suppression

• Unusual Odors
• Abnormal behavior of fire when water is applied.
• Obstacles hindering fire fighting.
• Incendiary Devices
• Trailers
• Structural alterations

10
Observations During Suppression

• Fire Patterns
• Heat Intensity
• Abnormal behavior of fire when water is applied
• Availability of Documents
• Fire Detection and Protection Systems
• Intrusion Alarms
• Location of the Fire
• Obstacles that hinder fire suppression operations
• Trailers

11
Observations After the Fire

• Availability of Documents and Records
• Incendiary Devices
• Structural Alterations
• Unusual Odors
• Personal Possessions
• Household Items

12
Firefighters Responsibilities

• Firefighters must be aware during fire ground
  operations that what they do and how they do it
  can affect the determination of the cause and
  origin of the fire.

13
Responsibilities After the Fire

• Firefighters should report all facts concerning
  the fire to the officer in charge as soon as
  possible.
• Delay thorough salvage and overhaul work until
  the area of origin has been determined.
• Firefighters should perform salvage and overhaul
  carefully. They should not move more debris than
  is necessary.

14
Factors that Indicate the Cause of the Fire

• Burn Patterns
• Heat Transfer
• Flashover

15
Heat Transfer

• Conduction
• Transfer of heat by direct contact of one body to
  another (pipes, beams, etc.)
• Convection
• Transfer of heat by some circulating medium
  (either gas or liquid)
• Convection is the form of heat transfer most
  responsible for the spread of structural fires.
• Radiation
• Heat being transferred from one area to another
  without direct contact with the area, and without
  any circulating hot gases to help bathe the
  area in heat. It is heat in the form of energy
  which travels through space or materials as waves.

16
Flashover

• Stage of fire when a room or other area becomes
  heated to the point when flames flash over the
  entire surface or area.
• Common cause of secondary fires
• Indicators
• Surface burning (a grey-black color w/ hairline
  cracks, rather than deep char)
• Lack of an accelerant residue
• Lack of normal fire spread
• Demarcation or separation line in the structure
  an imaginary line between a heated area a
  cooler area.

17
Burn Patterns

• V Pattern
• Fires typically burn upward and outward
• Inverted V Pattern
• Ceiling Damage
• Char Depth
• Protected Areas
• Low Burning

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Conduct Statements At The Scene

• Firefighters should never attempt to interrogate
  a potential arson suspect.
• Allow the owners or occupants to talk freely if
  they are incline to do so, some valuable
  information is gather this way.
• Careless joking and unauthorized or premature
  remarks can be very embarrassing to the fire
  department.

19
Conduct Statements At The Scene

• A sufficient reply to any question concerning
  cause is The fire is under investigation.
• Any public statement regarding the fire cause
  should be made only after the investigator and or
  the ranking officer have agreed to its accuracy
  and validity and have given permission for it to
  be released.

20
Securing The Fire Scene

• The most efficient and complete efforts to
  determine the cause of a fire are wasted unless
  the building and premises are properly secured
  and guarded until an investigator has finished
  evaluating the evidence exactly as it appears at
  the scene.

21
Securing The Fire Scene

• The fire department has the authority to bar
  access to any building during fire fighting
  operations and for a reasonable length of time
  after fire suppression is terminated.
• Fire Department authority ends when the last fire
  department representative leaves the scene.

22
Right of Entry

• The 4th Amendment to the US Constitution provides
  the following guarantee
• The right of the people to be secure in their
  persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
  unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
  violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon
  probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation,
  and particularly describing the place to be
  searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

23
Right of Entry

• The investigator has legal control of the scene
  if
• you arrive prior to the departure of fire
  suppression personnel, and
• fire suppression personnel have completed
  suppression and overhaul operations
• If you must leave for any reason other than
  darkness or a scene that is too hot to work
• You should obtain a Consent to Search or
  Administrative Search Warrant before returning

24
Right of Entry

• You have questionable control of the scene
• If the fire occurred during the night, you may
  leave the scene and return as soon as possible
  after daylight, or
• If the scene is too hot for you to enter, you may
  leave the scene and return as soon as possible
  after the scene has cooled.
• It is best to obtain a Consent to Search any time
  the scene has been left unattended.

25
Consents to Search

• Must be signed by someone who has control of the
  premises, or who has authority to act in their
  behalf.
• If there is doubt as to a persons authority to
  sign, you should get a warrant.

26
Warrants

• Two Types
• Administrative
• Evidentiary

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Administrative Warrant

• Will usually suffice to get you into a scene
  legally when you cant get a Consent to Search.
• Can be issued by any Judge
• Justice of the Peace
• Judge of Commissioners Court
• Mayor?
• Is good until you find evidence that a crime has
  been committed

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Evidentiary Warrant

• Is required when you find evidence, or suspect
  that a crime has been committed
• Must be issued by a judge of a court at law
• District Judge
• Judge of County Court at Law

29
Warrants

• Must be executed as specified in the warrant
• Good for one entry, cant go back like you can
  with a Consent to Search
• Must leave a Return and execute a Return to the
  court

30
Warrants

• What does all this legal mumbo jumbo mean???
• Get written consent whenever you can
• Less work
• Less heartburn

31
Indicators of Incendiary Fires(Red Flags)

• Extensive Low Burning
• Accelerant Trails
• Removal of Contents
• Seasonal Contents
• Impaired Entry
• Wrong Time Frame
• Smoking materials
• Cooking fires
• Multiple points of origin
• Not to be confused with drop fires

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Protecting and Securing Evidence

• Spoliation
• Protection of Evidence
• Collection of Evidence (If time permits)