Fire Investigation Guidelines- "No Smoke Without Fire"

Article taken from Issue 3 of the Forensic Access Newsletter "Benchmark"

Dr Roger Berrett, an experienced fire examiner, airs his concerns about the Home Office fire-investigation guidelines

If one asks the man in the street, a police officer or a lawyer who is best qualified to investigate the cause of a fire, they may well say a fire brigade officer.

Many fire brigades have specialist fire investigation officers – some well qualified and very experienced, others less so – but the absence of a national qualification and/or accreditation scheme makes it difficult to assess the value of evidence from an officer who appears competent.

However, a fire officer has no statutory responsibility or obligation to investigate the origin and cause of a fire but is usually required by the government to complete a fire data report (FDR1) form, which contains a section on the supposed cause of the fire. The form’s guidelines explain that the cause does not have to be established conclusively and that only the most likely options are required. The level of investigation needed is neither designed nor intended to form the basis for prosecution.

Fire officers have a much greater awareness of arson than in the past. This is reflected in the rise in the number of crime allegations made by firefighters. Many fires are deemed to be deliberate, but the quality of the evidence is often deficient as it is based upon relatively cursory investigation.

The Home Office fire-investigation guidelines point out that fire investigation is a police responsibility and should initially be carried out by a scenes-of-crime officer. If there are interpretive matters to be addressed, then an ‘expert’ forensic scientist should be called in. However, many forensic scientists have limited experience and understanding of fire investigation.

Against this background, it is important to question the investigator’s competence and the evidence’s quality. Ultimately, the court decides who is an expert, but it is important for defence solicitors to find out who they are facing and not to accept the prosecution’s ‘expert’ evidence at face value.

Jim Munday, forensic scientist fire investigator, provides a case study