Fire Investigation - Signs, Symptoms, and Causes of Building Collapse, Fire Prevention, and Arson Prevention - Case Study Example

Fire Investigation In the United States, one of the leading deaths of many Americans was due to fire accident. In statistics, fire ranks as the third leading causes of deaths. About 41 % were of outside fire. 29 % were structure fires. There is a special action force that is assigned to determine the causes and origin of a fire, the Fire Investigation Division. Fire investigation is one of the branches of forensic science. In the United States, the compiled codes of the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) are the basis for fire investigation. The systematic approach includes: 1. the fire investigator was being notified of his assignment and his responsibilities was set forth. 2. He will now drafts the plans, the flow of the investigation process, consider the equipments that will be used, and the considering his own safety while in the fire scene.3. Examining the fire scene and collecting data that will be of help in the investigation process. 4. Theory formulation on the origin of the fire. 5. The gathered data will be analyzed for possible answers. Residential Fire. Fire investigation usually starts with determining the building compliance with the Building Code and Fire Code. The main cause of residential fire is negligence which probably started in the kitchen area. Unattended cooking sometimes causes the ignition of fire. This is why no one can be blame for the accident other than the household owner. Mechanical failure sometimes attributes to fire accident, that is why, the need to thoroughly investigate all the remnants of fire is mandatory. Smoking also can contribute to residential fire. Thus, in the process, the origin of fire is important to determine if the fire is natural cause or generated. The first process in investigation is to observe the fire patterns. Consider also the weather condition; this may cause the widespread of fire especially when it was one hot summer day. Sociological factors are also important, such that the dwelling area. Households which are closely built together can have greater property damage, and residential building set into fire might lead to its gradual destruction. After examining the area of the fire scene, the investigator can now proceed to interview bystanders or any witnesses of the fire incident. In the process of interview, one must ask what he has seen in the area while the firefighters were not yet out for their duty. What have he noticed in the structure of the fire, this is important to determine if the fire was planned or not (just in the case of arson). It is important also to ask if there are survivors of the fire incident or how many were inside or are there any injured or killed inside the residential area. If there are any who survived in the fire accident, they are the potential individual who can answer of any of the origin and causes of fire. After having those bystanders and the surviving victims interviewed, the fire investigator can proceed to ask questions on the first in fire fighters. He must ask how the fire gets started, or they have any knowledge or speculations how the fire has come out. He must also ask, what have he noticed during the pre-fighting operations and the post fighting operations. Also, the investigator must ask, how many properties were damaged, or are there any people involved or killed in the fire. After done investigating, the investigator can also interview a media or a reporter, (if any) to help him collate the data gathered from the bystanders. Also to compare his gathered information and the reporters’ gathered information. The Fire Investigator can proceed to the fire scene to document the whole area. Also, he must collect all the remnants of the fire, and preserved this for laboratory tests. After his investigation he must present his information gathered to the Public Information Officer or shall act upon to feed the public with the information they need to know with the presence of the media for television or newspaper broadcast. Signs, Symptoms and Causes of Building Collapse. There are some signs that can help the Fire Investigator anticipate that a building may collapse. Taking notice of the age and condition of the building would allow the Fire Investigator a quick assessment as to the probability of a collapse. The Fire Investigator should check for deterioration of the mortar joints and masonry and for any cracks as well. Other possible indicators of collapse would be sagging floors and bulges and bowing of walls. Fire Investigators should also take care when investigating abandoned buildings. A large volume of fire or a very long firefighting operation might also cause enough damage to the building to make it collapse. The Fire Investigator should also be prepared for a collapse if the same building has been damaged by previous fires. The following are the possible warning signs of sudden collapsion of building, and these must be noticed immediately: Overall age and condition of the building Deterioration of mortar joints and masonry Cracks, in anything Signs of building repair including reinforcing cables and tie-rods Large open spans Bulges and bowing of walls Sagging floors Abandoned buildings Large volume of fire Long firefighting operations—remember gravity? Smoke coming from cracks in walls Dark smoke coming from truss roof or floor spaces (Brown smoke indicates that wood is being heated significantly; black smoke means combustibles have ignited or are near hignition.) Multiple fires in the same building or damage from previous fires (Delmar Learning, 2004) Also several indicators that must be examined in order to trace the origin of fire, first is the interview process wherein fire in firefighters must be interviewed as well as the witnesses themselves,. If the area was secure it is necessary to visit the most burned area to the least burned in order to determine where the fire concentrated which probably where the fire started. The direction of the smoke is also important, take noticed of it. Arson. Many of the fire incidents in the United States tend to be unreported because its nature was mainly the fire were intentionally set. In ascertaining a fire incident having the motive of arson, one has to consider the three factors that have interceded in the burning process. It is the so called fire triangle.(Flynn. 2006). This consists mainly of oxygen, a fuel source and a heat. The oxygen must be concentrated in the area where the fire will take place, the fuel is the stimulator; the heat source is the ignition. Accelerants will include alcohol, kerosene or gasoline. Accordingly, the presence of a hole or anything that have oxygen concentration shall augment the fire content. Usually, the arsonist starts with an open area inside the house in order to let the fire squirmed into concentrated area. In order to rule that the motive was arson, there are elements that must be met. First is that there is an actual fire in the area, that the fire was actually seems to be not behaving normally, or there are multiple source of burning. In the procedures of investigating arson, the Fire Investigator starts investigating witnesses and fire fighters. In murder cases, if there are dead bodies found inside the burned area, these bodies usually needed to be autopsied in order to examine if the bodies were stabbed or were mutilated then afterwards killed. If the autopsy report indicated that there were actual wounds found in the victim then it was a murder and not an arson case. In case of robbery, if the robbers burn the area to conceal whatever evidences found thereof, the cases will be ruled as murder. In the investigation process, one thing that must need to observe is the fire patterns. The color variation of a smoke when there is fire provides a hint. For instance the presence of gasoline will produce a yellow or white flame with black smoke. Wood on the other hand produces yellow or red flame and grey or brown smoke. Thus if a Fire Investigator noticed that a wooden house being burned produces black thick smoke, then they can ruled out the presence of gasoline.(Flynn. 2006.) Like in the process of investigating fire accident, the Investigator usually proceed for asking if there was the presence of fire alarms or devices that can mitigate the outburst of fire. The Investigator can examine if there was any force entry or breaking of the door. If there wasn’t any, the Investigator shall try looking at the window in order to find out if there was any broken glass or a sign of force entry. On other cases if all the doors and windows were locked it is very speculative that the doors and windows were intentionally locked to let the fire concentrate inside the area. In the interview process, the Investigator must ask if there were any familiar faces outside the burning area, which tend to be pretending to help save the property. This people must be interviewed. To examine the actual place of the fire is also necessary to see if there were any unfamiliar household items. Like in a fire accident the investigator must also have to document the whole area, as well as comparing his documentary report to the video footage of earlier spectators or the media. This will help determine the prior arrangement or order of things inside the area and his actual footage. There are several motives why a person or persons are committing arson: First is perhaps to conceal a crime such as murder or burglary. Second motive is revenge or spite. Third motive is monetary gain. In the case of accelerants used, it is important for the Investigator to examine once again the area of fire, spilled accelerants may produce charring on the surface area. These patterns can draw out a conclusion of arson. Hazards face by the Investigator. The Investigator’s job is not as easy as it seems to be. Like the hazards being face by the fire fighters, the Investigator while conducting his investigation has the possibility to be perished in the fire fighting operation. He can either be killed by the falling debris or being suffocated or inhaled some of the smoke which might cause him dizziness and eventually some certain cases of lung defects. Fire Prevention and Arson Prevention. The primary aim of Fire fighters in the fire fighting operations is not mainly to kill the fire but to mitigate the possible destruction of fire. Some safety tips to mitigate the fire are the presence of fire alarms or fire resistant devices. Few households in the United States have fire sprinkler because it is costly. Fire stops also is necessary in a residential building or in a ship. In conspicuous places such as malls, it is important to have fire exits and fire extinguisher in different areas. In case of arson, especially to residential buildings, it is important to have cameras and other devices that shall monitor any intruder that have the motive of arson. Management must be aware of arson and how this does might destroy all the properties of the company. Arsonists have different motives such as revenge and payment of debt, all this must be avoided by the management. There is a probability that management regime may not satisfy the needs of employees, it must be noted that anyone can be an arsonist, even the employees, thus in order to avoid this, the management must be able to satisfy the employees’ needs. A brief discussion of what is arson and its causes will be needed to discus to all the ranks to be fully aware of it and its possible effect to the company. RESOURCES: Café, Tony. (2007). Basics of Fire Investigation.TC Forensic. Available from, www. Tcforensic.com.au. Last Accessed (July 20, 2008). Flynn, Katherine.(2006). Crime and Clues. The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation. Daryl w. Clemens. Available from www.crimeandclues.com/arson.htm.last. Last Accessed (July 20, 2008.) Delmar Learning (2004). Firefighter's Handbook: Basic Essentials of Firefighting, Basic Edition. Read More