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On scene observations/evidence preservation
When you get called for a fire of any kind, theres always a few major aspects to think of. First and foremost is your safety and the safety of your co firefighters. Next is what is burning and how do I put it out. The last I am going to mention is very important also. How did this fire start and how do I make measures to preserve evidence which may be around (and you may not see). Evidence is sometimes hard to detect, we must use our instincts to try to point out the not so obvious. Burn patterns are a huge resource for determining the location of point of orgin. It can tell you whether it was a fast burn or a slow burn. (the smoke cone on the walls.) Fast burns are an indicator that an accelerant may have been used.) Looking at incandescent lightbulbs is another resource which can point to the direction the fire started. A lightbulb will melt towards the direction the fire originates. With this being said, we must do a major amount of training with thermal imaging cameras. With the cameras of today being so advanced, you can limit the destruction of walls, and ceilings. If the camera says theres no fire behind the wall, leave it be. The old days of gutting a house are gone because someone may have felt heat behind the wall. If you are fighting a fire, and you see an incendiary device, note the location, and take EVERY precaution to not touch it. Fingerprints are a classic nail in the coffin in some cases. If you pick it up and take a look at what it is, you technically are part of the chain of custody, and if multiple hands pass it around, the chance of it being thrown out of court as not admissable isn't worth it. There are many steps to collect evidence and preserve the chain of custody which have to be followed, or else your little firebug will walk and strike again.
If you need help with evidence preservation, and or what to look for, contact your fire marshals office and ask them if there are any training classes they can provide to help you spot and avoid the areas which are indicators of point of orgin.
I will include this also just so you can see with a clearer vision as to the importance. In a fire north of where I live a jouvenile female set fire to her bed. Jouvenile fire setters have a few reasons for creating fires. Her reason was simple. She was being assaulted sexually on the bed she burned. It was the quick thinking of the firefighters inside to preserve the scene, and it leaded to the arrest of the stepfather for molestation and sexual assault. Now if these firefighters had not preserved the scene, the marshal wouldn't have had that angle to look at.
As I stated before I am an Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal and also certified in basic evidence collection. ALWAYS have an eye out to save shred of evidence no matter the size, shape, or weight, it could be the one mitigating factor to put your pyro behind bars. It could also have far reaching affects beyond the fire starter
If you need help with evidence preservation, and or what to look for, contact your fire marshals office and ask them if there are any training classes they can provide to help you spot and avoid the areas which are indicators of point of orgin.
I will include this also just so you can see with a clearer vision as to the importance. In a fire north of where I live a jouvenile female set fire to her bed. Jouvenile fire setters have a few reasons for creating fires. Her reason was simple. She was being assaulted sexually on the bed she burned. It was the quick thinking of the firefighters inside to preserve the scene, and it leaded to the arrest of the stepfather for molestation and sexual assault. Now if these firefighters had not preserved the scene, the marshal wouldn't have had that angle to look at.
As I stated before I am an Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal and also certified in basic evidence collection. ALWAYS have an eye out to save shred of evidence no matter the size, shape, or weight, it could be the one mitigating factor to put your pyro behind bars. It could also have far reaching affects beyond the fire starter
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Heather Langston on
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Excellent post!! I was a cop for four years and it drives me CRAZY when I see people stomping through what could be evidence. I try to share my experience with my crew, just so they understand why the guys from Fire Loss are yelling at them for picking stuff up or moving things.
Just another observation, when writing reports people need to understand how important accuracy is in documentation. I've had my butt torn up by attorneys and it sucks. When I write my reports, I cover the who, what, where, when, and why spectrum. And I keep things simple; no big fifty cent words or technical jargon. Just straight forward documentation that the average joe off the street can understand.
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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It will blow your mind what a defense attorney will do. They will cottle you by asking simple questions, how long you been a firefighter, why are you a firefighter, have you fought a lot of fires, whats the biggest fire you been to? Then comes the almighty question. What is fire? Of course this is simply meant to redirect the jury against you for credability. Any and all angles the defense can take to free their client is what they will do, even at your expense. It is by far better to make sure you take every step to ensure all paperwork is in and correct, and also that you don't destroy evidence.
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Yeah, I got torn up by a few attorneys, especially during DUI cases. I really want to put together a class for firefighters about documentation and legal proceedings. Most of the kids that are in the field right now have no clue about lawyers and how their job affects legal proceedings.
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Permalink Reply by Lt2406 on
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very true! his or her job is to make you look like a dummy and we don't need to give them any help in doing so. We have started useing a form given to us by our sherrifs office to log in the who what when why why and hows and the crime tech has come in to talk about walking in each others foot prints and not rambleing thru the whole scene more than what was necessary, and if you are not needed in a certain place stay out unless you want to be added to the supena list.
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