What is the general procedure on arrival.
1) Secure the scene
2) Interview the informant
3) Interview SFI
4) Interview incident controller
5) Ensure safety of the scene
6) Conduct prelim exam
7) Confer with staff and establish a plan
8) Conference if deemed suspicious
9) Comms for SITREP
(S III E CCCC)
(SFI OP)
Identify who you would consider interviewing at the scene.
- Spectators
- Firefighters
- Informant
- Occupants
- Passers-by
- Police on scene
(SFI OP)
(PEEP)
What are some scene security considerations?
1) Preserving evidence
2) Exclusion of any unauthorized people
3) Ensure scene is not tampered with
4) Prevent looting
(PEEP)
What are some scene preservation considerations?
1) Scope - Where and what needs to be preserved
2) Cordon
3) CAP
In circumstances where it is difficult to preserve the scene, what can you do?
Record the scene prior to demolition by taking
- Sketches
- Photographs
- Video recordings
- Building plans
When dealing with suspicious fatal fires, consider storage of the removed soil into the “warm” area.
What personnel should be present and considered at Police fire scenes?
MUST
- SFI
CONSIDER
- ESR
- Photographer
- SOCO
- Building Inspector
- Pathologist (Where 1S has occurred)
What is a Point or Origin?
The exact location where:
- A component failed
- A fire was maliciously lit
- An accidental fire originated
(PANCake)
What should an external exam take into account?
- Periphery of the building
- Adjoining premises (often reveal accelerants, forced entry, broken windows)
- Nearby streets/allyways
- Curtilage of property
(PANCake)
(ABCP)
What could the surrounding area reveal?
- Accelerants
- Business appears to be struggling
- Contents missing
- Property run-down
(ABCP)
(LMNOP S)
What is a preliminary internal exam?
Slow walk through from least to most damaged taking note of:
- Lack of clothing
- Missing photos and other person items
- Need of repair - areas of building
- Other unrelated seats of fire or burn patterns
- Presence of accelerants
- Signs of financial hardship
(LMNOP S)
(SSS DDD)
What is a detailed internal exam?
Accompanying the SFI taking note of:
- Smoke deposit and burn patterns
- Spalling
- Skirting board damage
- Damage to wall studs
- Damage to roofing timber
- Damage to window sills and door edges
(SSS DDD)
(ASP DD)
At the end of the exam, what should the SFI be able to determine?
- Area of origin
- Seat of the fire
- Point of origin
- Direction of fire spread
- Direction of speed of wind and weather
(ASP DD)
(CUMST)
What evidence of accelerants are you looking for?
- Containers
- Uneven burning
- Multiple start locations
- Smell
- Traces of debris
(CUMST)
(TUF SIR)
What evidence for intentional interference would you look for?
- Tampering with safety features
- Unusual burn patters
- Foreign material from a device
- Removal of valuable property
- Signs a crime was committed
- Inconsistencies
- Removal of valuable property
(TUF SIR)
(DAS)
What should you take as control samples?
- Debris from the seat of the fire
- Any accelerants
- Soil from the surrounding area
(DAS)
Who would you consider attending a conference?
- O/C CIB
- O/C Investigation
- FILO
- SFI
- SOCO/Photos
(SPARES)
Conferences will assist you with what?
- Suspect I/D
- Planning further enquiries
- Assessing risks and info
- Recording decisions
- Establishing motives
- Scene reconstruction
(SPARES)
What is best practice for removing a body?
Bubble wrapped to secure the body parts then packaged into marked and protected boxing.
You should look out for medically inserted pins or teeth.
What people should you ensure you interview?
- The owner or occupier of the property
- The person who last secured the property
- The person who found the fire
- The person who gave the alarm
(TCPV)
When taking statements, what pieces of information would you obtain?
- The fire
- Conduct of people present
- People loitering before the fire
- Vehicles in the area before the fire
(TCPV)
(RRIC)
What should you obtain from insurance companies?
- Request an assessor to value the building and damage
- Recent increase in cover
- Info on prior claims
- Copies of insurance policies
(RRIC)
When considering suspects, who should you consider informing and what should you try to find out?
You should inform Intel and FILO.
You should find out about any suspects, similar previous fires and other fires involving owner/occupier.
(OE CAP)
What are some possible suspects for a suspicious fire?
- Owner/Occupier - insurance fraud
- Employee - to cover theft
- Criminal - cover their crime
- Aggrieved person (Jealous/Hate/Revenge)
- Pyromaniacs
(OE CAP)
7 things
What should your detailed report include?
1) INTRO
2) PROPERTY INFO
3) FIRE DETAILS
4) VALUE OF DAMAGE
5) INVESTIGATION RESULT
6) INSURANCE INFO
7) GENERAL ENQUIRIES RESULT
(IPFV IIG)
