Fire and Arson Fatality Fire Scene Investigation

Often times a residential fire scene is going to involve one or more deceased bodies within the fire scene debris. More likely if the fire occurred between midnight and 8:00 am especially during the winter months according to statistics.

This type of fire scene warrants expertise in different areas understanding human behavior in a fire determining origin and cause along with a homicide detective is usually the minimum assistance needed to examine the fatality determine the origin and cause of the fire and follow through with a death Investigation.

The Officer will usually attend the Autopsy by the Medical Examiner to determine cause and manner of death, assist the medical examiner with answers to questions they may have about the visual observations of burn patterns on the body.

Each step taken is critical for evidence preservation of the scene and the victim(s) of a fire incident, the entire scene is to be treated as a crime scene until proven otherwise.  

The body is evidence and sometimes it can have fragile trace evidence on the clothing, DNA evidence under the fingernails, or the victim’s circumstances could warrant a sexual assault kit be used by the Homicide Detective.

The position of the body the clothing condition is important and it shouldn’t be removed before examining. Once moved it cannot be returned exactly as it was found during fire suppression.

The movement and improper handling of the deceased can also compromise indicators needed to reconstruct and read fire patterns, determine the temperature exposure, direction of heat travel, in relation to the location of the victim, and if the victim was breathing at the time of the fire (vital response) or was already deceased.

This training will take you step by step through procedures necessary to avoid an oversight and how to gather all factual information recognizing when you have a competency gap and need assistance relevant to your particular fire scene and death Investigation.

The purpose of this Course:

This course was designed and will be implemented to provide Law Enforcement, Fire Investigators, DA Investigators, with an in-depth understanding of proper procedures to follow from the time the complaint was received until a final disposition and closure.

A segment of the class will be CFItrainier.net training modules on death Investigations.

Upon Completion Attendees will have been provided the skills and knowledge to:

• Establish Scene Security and Accountability.
• Determine the sequence for investigating a fatal fire scene.
• Document the location of the deceased.
• Understand the importance of the physical appearance of the deceased.
• Understand the different specialist involved in this type investigation.
• Identify the methods of identifying the victim(s)
• Determining the origin and cause in relation to the death.
• Better understand Human behavior in a structure fire.