Essay
Unit 36 - Forensic Fire Investigation Assignment 2 (Merit)
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
This is a lengthy merit. This achieved the merit criteria.
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Assignment 2 – Fire InvestigationMerit
At any time during or after an operational incident there might be the need to conduct some form of
investigation. Actions which are taken at the outset of an investigation at a fire and arson scene can play a
rather pivotal role in the resolution of a case. To ensure that potential physical evidence isn’t tainted or
destroyed, or potential witnesses overlooked, the key is a careful, thorough investigation. The need to secure a
scene and preserve evidence when responding to a fire is a concern this is because operational activities and
the development of the fire may destroy evidence which is crucial to the effective investigation of an incident.
A fire investigation involves the examination of all incidents which are fire-related once firefighters have
extinguished the fire. The practice which is carried out is similar to that of the examination, which is carried out
of crime scenes, in that the scene needs to be preserved, evidence collected and analysed , along with
numerous additional dangers and difficulties. The investigation will involve surveying the damage scene closely
so that the fires origin is able to be established and eventually establishing the fire’s cause.
When arriving at a fire scene the securing of the scene and evidence preserving should immediately take place
along as it doesn’t affect the safety or the successful conclusion of the incident. Also, incident commanders
should achieve scene security and perseveration of evidence through establishing and maintaining cordon
controls. Cordons should be used by incident commanders as this will keep the public out as well as allowing
for control to be maintained within the inner cordon. It’s important to note that the cordon should start as
large as practicable until such a time as resources are able to be released from the scene and then the cordon
size reduced. The crime scene investigators will search the inner cordon to ensure that any possible potential
evidence is recovered. The scene should be entered only be authorised personnel and a clear common search
pattern must be used as this will allow for all of the authorised personnel to not only protect any physical
evidence but at the same time prevent cross-contamination. If there is any doubts about the cause of the fire,
requests after the operational phase of the incident has been conducted to allow occupiers or others to enter
the property must be carefully considered. If the decision is made to allow the individual in, they must be
supervised and accompanied and the individual(s), the actions and the locations noted and recorded. If and
when necessary windows and apertures (an opening) which gives a vantage point to see into the scene should
ideally be covered, as this will prevent direct observation from unauthorised personnel, such as; the general
public.
The decision to leave physical evidence which has been identified at the scene should be considered carefully.
So, if it essential that anything must be moved, a record must be kept explaining the possible reasons and
implications. Personnel must be aware that the preservation of the scene is vital as this will allow other
organisations to fully investigate an incident. The fire and rescue services should ensure that only personnel
which are required to deal with the incident access the site and that any necessary movement of objects,
wreckage and even casualties is minimised as much as possible. Once operations of rescue and firefighting
have been completed, the responsibility for the incidents security, property, contents, and personal effects will
be of the police or the statutory investigation team which is present. It must be noted that every personnel
should take into consideration how their actions might have an effect on any subsequent investigation as well
as identifying and prioritising evidence that could well deteriorate. Furthermore, early liaison is required as this
establish the requirements involving the statutory investigation team. The control of the scene shouldn’t
interfered with any statutory duties of the fire and rescue service or any lifesaving activities. Its vital that the
number of individuals allowed on the site of the incident is controlled so that evidence, e.g. personal effects
aren’t disturbed or if so, are disturbed as little as can possibly be. When the situation is allowed, there should a
careful withdrawal of both non-essential personnel and equipment. If and when casualties or bodies are
moved, there must be great care taken that any item which is adjacent to them is recorded or moved with the
casualty or body itself. Its possible that the police may be required to take control of the cordons once they’ve
been established and to maintain a scene log.
Fires along with floods or other emergencies can not only destroy but also significantly alter structures, of
buildings, vehicles, and even objects. As every minute passes, key evidence is being lost before the fire and
rescue services arrives, this is why it’s important that the fire and rescue service arrive as quickly as possible.
Upon arrival at the scene, incident commanders and firefighters must consider their firefighting tactics and
actions as this will ensure, that when possible, evidence is being protected and preserved, and that the scene
isn’t being contaminated by the responding crews activities. The unintended consequence of a simple actions
like washing down equipment after an incident could even destroy or obfuscate evidence. Where evidence is
unable to be physically preserved, information to support investigations should be captured in other forms, for
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example; photographs and records. During attendance the fire and rescue service should ensure that as much
evidence should be preserved as possibly. They must also identify potential evidence and take steps in
preserving or retrieving evidence where it may be lost during operations.
An incident commander has a role in confirming the following; They must confirm all information involving the
incident, such as – whether life has been confirmed extinct, if there is deceased individual present at the scene
as well as the gender, name, age and contact details of the deceased, any casualties, witnesses, and agencies
which are in attendance. The entry control operative should record information, such as; if any entry route
and tactical methods were required to effect entry doors and windows open or broken during the time of the
incident, if CCTV is available. Other important information would be the emergency fire vehicles CCTV, local
CCTV fire/ burglar alarm systems at the scene, along with any offsite recording systems and mobile phone
recordings done by eye-witnesses which could be potentially downloaded to social media feeds or even local
new sites.
For identification purposes and in help establishing the cause of the fire the positions of the fatally injured
casualties is vital. Only under the direction of the police or the statutory investigation team should body
removal be conducted. Furthermore, it may be necessary to remove bodies before the arrival of investigation
teams or medical teams as survivors need to be rescued or to prevent the bodies from being destroyed by the
fire or some other hazard – if this is the case the bodies position along with its location should be noted, and if
possible labelled before being reported to the investigation team. Rescuers which have moved any bodies
should be questioned and provide a statement as soon as possible after the incident whilst the memories of
their actions are relatively fresh in their minds, therefore, they’re more likely to be able to recall the positions
of the body more accurately. An officer should ideally be appointed to map out as accurately as possible the
position and location of the body/ bodies. If any items end up falling from the casualty or body whilst they’re
being moved, the items if possible, should be recorded and kept with the casualty or body, as it could be a way
to prove means of identification. An aspect which should be taken into consideration is that if bodies have
been burnt badly, they will become brittle and are likely to fall apart, particularly if an untrained personnel was
to move them and by doing so would destroy vital evidence possibly in regard to not only the identification but
also the cause of death. To assist in debriefing purposes, it would be useful to take photographs or videos of
the accident site, the wreckage, and the position of the bodies.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is vital equipment which will protect the user against health or safety
risks. This is essential particularly because safety is an initial concern in regard to a fire incident scene. A scene
which has an increased risk factor with possible hazards, could include structural collapse, heated materials,
debris, asbestos, damaged gas and electricity mains, dangerous combustion products and other substances
deemed as toxic. Before individuals are able to enter a scene, it must be declared safe, however, the
individuals which are entering the scene should wear appropriate protective clothing, such as; hardhats/
helmets, steel-capped boots, thick gloves, fire-resistant overalls, high-visibility clothing, and possibly a face
mask. It might be necessary that individuals may need to wear further protective
equipment such as Chemical Protective Suits (CPC), Respiratory Protective Equipment
(RPE) (breathing apparatus) and possibly a safety harness. Appropriate PPE also helps in
preventing cross-contamination of evidence. If more than one item of PPE is worn, they
must be compatible with each other and when used together adequately control the
risks. When not in use the PPE must be properly stored and also be maintained in good
working order. Employees must make proper use of PPE in accordance with training
received and any lossy damage, destruction, or fault reported. Once PPE has become
dirty, damaged, or contaminated it mightn’t perform to the standard required by the
appropriate specification. PPE must only be worn if it’s been subject to appropriate
cleaning, decontamination or testing processes. Before investigations begin gas and
electricity supplies should be switched off.
Once a fires been extinguished, identifying the cause is typically the next step. Ideally, it would be possible to
reliably identify the exact cause of each fire, but in reality, by its very nature, a fire scene is one in which
valuable evidence can easily and quickly be lost to the effects of the fire and possibly the operations which the
fire fighters conducted. Sometimes, there’ll be times when the cause is able to be established confidently, and
other times where its possible to identify a limited number of possible causes, and further circumstances
where no reliable assessment is able to made due to the degree of damage or even the inability to enter
unsafe premises. The cause should be considered as a combination of circumstances which brought about a
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fire. When establishing the cause of the fire it’ll involve looking for potential sources of ignition, the seat of the
fire, a means which would give an explanation as to how the fire started and developed, along with any acts or
omissions which may have contributed to this. The evidence should demonstrate that all ingredients were
present, and an explanation provided as to how they relate to one another. For example; the presence of an
ignition source like a set of matches isn’t proof that they were responsible in causing the fire. Before any
activity is conducted, an early assessment is necessary to consider what level of investigation is require along
with the associated level of proof require for the cause to be established. Thought should also be given to who
else might’ve had an interest or primacy for the scene. Whether or not there were indications that the fire is
suspicious, if this is the case information should be passed to the police and appropriate processes followed.
Consideration for establishing the area of interest – There are numerous ways in which investigators are able
to identify the area of interest. These should be used in providing consistent evidence in identifying where the
fire started and how the fire spread. If not, the evidence might’ve been moved at some point during the fire or
firefighting, or it might even be misinterpreted. An explanation must be sought for any inconsistency or a
different hypothesis must be considered. The term ‘post-fire indicators’ is the term used in describing the
various clues or effects which the fire leaves behind on a structure or the contents. This can be in relation to
the damage which was caused by directing burning (flame), smoke, heat, or even a combination of these –
clues like these are able to help an investigator identify the fires potential origin, as well as its development,
and the location of items. A different approach is to identify the lowest and more severe area of burning – this
tends to indicate the seat of the fire (point of origin), the reason for this is because as fires tend to burn
upwards the seat of the fire is likely to be found at a lower point of burn damage. However, this won’t always
be the case and therefore, the fires context should be taken into consideration. For example; its possible that
one area might’ve burnt for longer simply because the fire crew was unable to reach it and extinguish it. Or
even because there was a higher fuel loading in one location or liquid or dropping embers/materials might’ve
been what spread the fire to a lower level. Occasionally, witness evidence can be help when confirming the
cause and origin of the fire, here, it’s vital that the investigator must also ensure that the physical evidence
matches the provided verbal information this is because the witnesses may be unintentionally or even
deliberately misleading. When assessing the post-fire indicators, time must be taken in ensuring any activity
which might’ve affected the scene before the investigation was conducted. This may involves action by the
members of the public, the fire and rescue service along with other first responders. Also, the application and
choice of various firefighting techniques may have an influence or even alter the expected post-fire indicators.
As evidence is one of the most important aspects of any case, there are some things which must be followed
to ensure that it is recovered, collected, and preserved in the most efficient way that’s possible. Evidence can
be in numerous types whether it be broken glass from the point of entry to scrunched up or twisted paper
used as an initiating fuel papers, or flammable material piled up in the scene, petrol cans or other containers
with strong odours, or fingerprints left on items damaged at the fire scene or even brought to the scene.
Before evidence is collected there’s some steps that should ideally be followed:
Ensure that there’s no suspected devised which haven’t functioned, needles, firearms, drug
paraphernalia, blood or any other body fluids from injured or deceased individuals at the fire scene.
However, if there is items like these present, expert assistance must be obtained before attempting to
collect the dangerous materials in particular. An unexploded device must NEVER be collected, instead
the area should be cleared, and the bomb squad called. Also, explosive chemicals or substances
should NEVER be collected, and again the area should be cleared, and the bomb squad called.
Always photograph an item as it was found before touching or collecting it.
Always note the item along with its location, measuring it from two or more fixed objects within the
room, do this on the diagram of the scene.
Ideally, a qualified evidence collection technician should be consulted to process potential or known
crime scenes and to collect physical evidence.
When handling & collecting evidence, there are some rules which should be followed:
The search are shouldn’t be restricted to inside the scene, this is because evidence is able to be found
in other places on the property or possibly in the neighbourhood.
Document the location of the evidence through using written notes, photographs, sketches, video and
photo logs, the evidence recovery log, container labels and evidence tags.
Evidence should be collected in areas where the fire originated (in cases where the fire isn’t
accidental.)
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