ISI Investigations
Over the years, I have been asked more times than I can count if I would take an assignment to do origin and cause fire investigation using someone else’s photographs. My answer is always No!
At times, the reasons for needing a C&O done from photos is compelling and there can be circumstances that might warrant some review, but in the end, it would be unprofessional because it cannot be done. Here are the reasons why.
The accepted method for conducting a fire origin and cause examination is noted in the NFPA 921. You are the investigator!
You do a complete exterior examination of both the burned and unburned parts of the object, which can be as big as a building covering several blocks or as small as vehicle or an appliance. By examining and photographing everything on the exterior, including debris, you begin to put together your investigation.
If you are looking at photos, you cannot know if everything on the exterior was photographed or if something was missed in photos taken by someone else.
You then work from the areas of least damage to areas of most damage, examining fire patterns and taking photographs. You examine each area of low burn and remove debris looking for fire patterns and take photographs. You are beginning to form an opinion of the fire cause and take appropriate photos. You begin to concentrate on a particular area.
If you are looking at photos, you cannot know if the investigator overlooked a low burn area that you would have examined if you had been at the fire scene yourself. Did the investigator remove debris in each area of low burn, layer by layer, looking for possible fire causes and were detailed photographs taken? Was each step photographed? Or did the investigator only photograph the area that he believed to be the area of origin and not all other areas of low burn. You cannot possibly know by looking at photos.
As you are removing debris layer by layer, you will use all your senses – sight, smell and touch – to evaluate the various items of physical evidence in the debris. You may notice odors that are similar to gasoline, kerosene, charcoal lighter or paint thinner. You may notice deep charring in some areas that crumble as you touch it and not in other areas. These things become part of the puzzle as you work toward a determination.
You cannot smell the debris or touch it or look under a piece of debris or turn it over or see where it came from by looking at a photograph. A one-dimensional photograph cannot show how deep the char is on burned items. You cannot shove a tool into the photo to see how deep it goes into the char. You need to be at the fire scene to do these things and they are vital to you before you make a determination of the cause of a fire.
A fire scene examination consists of a series of comparisons. Fire patterns on one wall are compared to another wall. One side of a doorway is compared to the other. One wire is compared to another wire. One outlet is compared to another. The top of a table is compared to the bottom. One side of the chair is compared to the other. One side of the roof is compared to the other. Your process of comparing and evaluating begins to tell you where the fire came from.
If you are looking at photographs, you cannot know if comparison photos were taken of everything you would have examined or whether a fire pattern was missed. You need photographs of the roof as well as the floor whether you are examining a building or a vehicle. Fire burns UP and fire patterns above an area of origin give you clues. The photographs may concentrate on an area of origin without providing photographs of the entire vicinity in all directions.
You must know what the fuel load was in the structure or vehicle. Is there hydrocarbons, paint, stain, piles of papers, piles of personal property or electrical appliances. If the personal property has been removed by the Fire Department or a clean-up crew, you must return it to its original location so you can read fire patterns. You may need to talk to the owner to determine where furniture was located so you can bring it back inside and look for protected areas in the floor that match the furniture. You must dig out the area of origin looking for items that were the fire source. If the fire source was removed to a debris pile, you must dig through the debris pile looking for the fire source and return it to the area of origin and photograph every single action you take to document your fire scene.
If you are looking at photographs, can you be sure that every fuel load was photographed? Can you compare a photo of a debris pile before it was examined to after it was examined? Will you have photos of the area of origin before it was dug out, during the dig out layer by layer, after it was dug out and after furnishings were returned? Will you have photos of protected areas? Even the most diligent investigator will get lost in his own investigation and not photograph areas that do not concern him or her. Obviously you, as an investigator, do not expect someone else to look at your photos to do an origin and cause examination, after the fact. Your photos represent your determination.
Sometimes the photographs are taken by Adjusters or insureds or someone who is not an investigator. These may give you a glimpse here and there of a fire pattern, but certainly you cannot and should not ever conduct a fire cause and origin investigation from photographs.
An Attorney with any fire background could make you look absolutely foolish and unprofessional if you tried to testify to a fire cause from photos when you did not go to the fire scene.
By: Larry Brown, Certified Fire Investigator
800.969.0605
Investigation of Fire Scenes Using Photographs
