| Part detective, scientist, engineer, and law | | | | serve as fire investigators on behalf of the Office |
| enforcer, the fire investigator represents the | | | | of the State Fire Marshal. Because fire |
| collusion of multiple careers rolled into one. It is the | | | | investigators must follow due process of law in |
| fire investigator who must explore, determine, | | | | matters such as collecting evidence, search and |
| and document the origin and cause of the fire, | | | | seizure, interrogation, and court testimony, police |
| establish what human actions were responsible for | | | | or criminal justice training is extremely helpful. |
| it, then bring authoritative testimony to the | | | | How To Get There |
| courtroom to win a conviction in cases of arson. | | | | Fire investigators may work in either the public or |
| "This isn't a job for a lazy man," says Paul Horgan, | | | | private sector. Typically, those in the public sector |
| accelerant detection canine handler and state | | | | are employed by municipalities, fire or police |
| trooper assigned to the Office of the | | | | departments and state and federal agencies. |
| Massachusetts State Fire Marshal. "You have to | | | | Those working in the private sector may be |
| be conscientious and have a mind that likes to | | | | employed by insurance companies, attorneys, or |
| figure things out. You really can't take shortcuts. | | | | private origin and cause firms, or organizations |
| You must take your own photographs, collect the | | | | such as the National Fire Protection Association. In |
| evidence, do follow up investigations. In instances | | | | some states, the local fire chief has jurisdiction |
| of incendiary fires, you must find the criminal." | | | | over the fire ground and is ultimately responsible |
| Although many people use the terms "fire | | | | for determining the origin and cause of a fire, |
| investigator" and "arson investigator" | | | | says Robert Corry, fire investigation specialist at |
| interchangeably, they are not one and the same, | | | | American Re-Insurance Company. There are |
| says Special Agent Steve Carman, CFI in the | | | | 26,354 fire departments in the US. The fire chief |
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) | | | | may have a fire investigator on staff. However, in |
| Sacramento field office. An arson investigator will | | | | some smaller communities, it may be the chief |
| try to determine who is responsible for setting a | | | | himself. Depending on the severity of the case, |
| fire; a fire investigator will attempt to determine | | | | the fire chief or investigator may call in more |
| the cause and origin of a fire. Most of the time, | | | | experienced county, state or federal investigators. |
| fire investigators are also arson investigators, | | | | "A prudent investigator won't attempt to work |
| says Agent Carman, who was an ATF arson | | | | alone but will instead use a team approach," Corry |
| investigator for four years prior to becoming a | | | | says. |
| fire investigator and serving on ATF's Western | | | | The career path for becoming a fire investigator |
| National Response Team for nine years. | | | | may be as complex and varied as the job itself. |
| "Frequently arson investigators might be a police | | | | Fire investigators working in the public sector |
| officer of ATF agent who doesn't have the | | | | typically come up through the ranks, starting out |
| background to perform a fire investigation - an | | | | as employees or volunteers within fire or police |
| area that is becoming increasingly grounded in the | | | | departments, gaining experience in various |
| science and engineering of fire behavior," says | | | | aspects of fire behavior as well as criminal law, |
| Special Agent Carman. The job of fire | | | | and sometimes in their free time, pursuing formal |
| investigation is complex, challenging and intriguing - | | | | education and training. These fire investigators |
| and requires a wide range of skills to perform it | | | | may work either within a municipality, county, or |
| effectively. Every fire investigator has a personal | | | | state office. At the national level, the ATF |
| perspective on what skills are needed most. | | | | employs approximately 80 certified fire |
| "A background in mechanical, electrical, civil, and | | | | investigators who are generally called in to assist |
| even chemical engineering plays a big role," says | | | | with local and state investigations of large fire |
| Robert Duval, a senior fire investigator with the | | | | scenes. ATF investigators first serve as ATF |
| National Fire Protection Association. "You are | | | | special agents, and then are selected to undergo a |
| looking at something that was destroyed and you | | | | rigorous two-year training program in fire |
| have to be able to put it back together again | | | | investigation. Some undergo advanced training in |
| either in your mind or physically to determine the | | | | highly specialized aspects of investigation, such as |
| origin and cause. Technical training plays a role in | | | | computer modeling, fire sprinkler systems, and |
| determining a lot of the factors in terms of fire | | | | fire growth. |
| behavior and how it attacked the structure you | | | | Those seeking employment in the private sector |
| are looking at, whether it be an appliance, piece of | | | | may come in from the public sector, or they may |
| equipment, or building." | | | | undertake an academic curriculum on fire science |
| This technical aspect of the job requires | | | | or engineering, such as those offered by the |
| knowledge of building construction and materials | | | | University of New Haven, University of Maryland, |
| and the effects of fire upon those materials. | | | | Oklahoma State, or Worcester Polytechnic |
| Evidence preservation methods, the effects of | | | | Institute. If you are in college now, engineering, |
| fire suppression, fire behavior and burn patterns | | | | forensics, and photography courses are all useful. |
| are also important technical aspects. Search | | | | After graduating, you might look for job openings |
| techniques must also be learned so that fire cause | | | | within insurance or investigative firms at the entry |
| evidence and ignition sources are preserved during | | | | level, and then attempt to work your way up. Or |
| the investigation. | | | | you might consider volunteering at your local |
| Yet it is important not to become mired in the | | | | firehouse to gain a foothold in the public sector. |
| technical aspects of the investigation at the | | | | Virtually every fire investigator will tell you to |
| expense of the human component, suggests fire | | | | become active in as many professional |
| investigator Paul Zipper, who works in the Office | | | | organizations as possible. Training is available on |
| of the State Fire Marshall in Massachusetts. "I | | | | the federal level from ATF, the FBI, and the |
| have made 300 to 400 arrests of people who | | | | International Association of Arson Investigators |
| have set fires. Typically, there's a fight, an | | | | (IAAI), and on the state level from the state |
| incident, and it's the interviewing that will tell you | | | | police and Fire Marshal's Office, as well as at |
| what happened. That's how you solve cases." | | | | various local agencies. Trooper Horgan says |
| Consider two separate fires, both originating in a | | | | investigators in his state usually join professional |
| wastebasket under a sink. In the first, someone | | | | organizations and then start to go to some of the |
| emptied an ashtray into the can, igniting a fire | | | | training offered by police departments on basic |
| from burning ash. In the second, someone lit a | | | | arson investigation, attend the National Fire |
| match and threw it into the trashcan in hopes of | | | | Academy's two-week training program in |
| collecting an insurance claim from damages. "Both | | | | Maryland, and start trying to build up credentials |
| fires originated in a trash can," says Zipper. "But I | | | | and a resume. Chris Porreca, group supervisor of |
| challenge anybody to tell me how that fire was | | | | the Arson Explosives Group for the Boston field |
| started. If you can interview well and learn to | | | | division of ATF agrees that it requires a high |
| read people, and mix that with diagramming, | | | | degree of self-motivation to pursue a career in |
| investigation, photography, and report writing, you | | | | fire investigation. "We ask applicants whether they |
| will be a good fire investigator." | | | | have worked fire scenes, signed up and gone to |
| While not all fire investigators have a law | | | | conferences on the local, state and national level, |
| enforcement background, many do. In the state | | | | and taken the initiative to become a state |
| of New York, investigators are fire marshals who | | | | certified fire investigator (CFI) to gain experience |
| are full powered police officers (some "Fire | | | | and knowledge," he says. Prior to becoming an |
| Marshals" are fire service personnel who have | | | | ATF fire investigator, Porreca was certified by |
| received police training and are sworn as "peace | | | | the State of New York for fire investigation, |
| officers"). In Connecticut, "local fire marshals" are | | | | which he said demonstrated to the ATF his desire |
| usually members of local fire departments or | | | | to go out and learn required skills on his own. "It |
| work under the municipal government and get | | | | requires a lot of long hours and a lot of weekends |
| some basic training on code enforcement and | | | | to do your job, and then to do this as well." |
| origin and cause, but who have no law | | | | While the career has always been challenging, it |
| enforcement powers at all! Who is a "fire marshal" | | | | has become even more so in recent years. "The |
| may vary too much from one place to the next | | | | arsonist is becoming more sophisticated," says |
| to make any blanket statement. There are local | | | | Trooper Horgan. "More fires are being set up to |
| (FD or PD), state (State Fire Marshals) and federal | | | | try to fool the investigators, to look accidental |
| (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) fire | | | | when they are intentional. This makes our job |
| investigators. Except for the ATF where all | | | | that much harder and makes you have to be an |
| certified fire investigators are ATF agents, the | | | | even more proficient investigator to solve the |
| rest of the system can vary. In New England and | | | | case. |
| a number of other states, state police officers | | | | |
