Fire Investigation Terms

• Fire - Produced when a substance undergoes rapid oxidation involving heat and light.

• Fire Triangle – Shows the three elements needed to produce and sustain a fire.

• Flash Point – The lowest temperature to which a substance must be heated in order for the
substance to give off vapors which will burn when exposed to a flame or ignition source.
• Point of Origin – The location where the fire started.

• Burn patterns –Noticeable patterns created by the fire as it burns.

• Accelerants – Substances, such as gasoline, paint thinner, and alcohol, that accelerate the
burning process.
• Arson – A fire started deliberately.
• Thomas Sweatt is a convicted serial arsonist responsible for setting hundreds of
fires in and around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area over a period of 25 years,
primarily between 1980 and 2005.
• He is considered one of the most prolific serial arsonists in American history.
• His crimes resulted in the deaths of at least four people: Annie Brown in 2002, Lou Edna
Jones in 2003, and Roy Picott and Bessie Mae Duncan in 1985.
• The fires also caused millions of dollars in property damage.
• Sweatt's method often involved using an incendiary device consisting of a one-gallon
plastic jug filled with gasoline and a cloth wick.
• He would typically place these devices near doors, and they were designed to burn for
over 20 minutes before igniting the gasoline fumes.
• He was arrested in April 2005 after a task force, led by the ATF, linked him to the fires
through DNA evidence and vehicle identification.Upon his arrest, Sweatt initially pled
guilty to 45 fires but later admitted to ATF agents that he was responsible for an
additional 300 fires, bringing his total confessed fires to over 350, possibly closer to 400.
• He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
• As of May 2023, he is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution
Petersburg Medium in Hopewell, Virginia.
 FIRE
The FIRE TRIANGLE represents the three elements
TRIANGLE
needed for fire to occur: heat, fuel, and oxygen.
Examples:
Fuel can be any combustible material in CLOTHING
any state of matter - solid, liquid, or gas. FURNITURE
Most solids and liquids become a vapor CURTAINS
FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS
or gas before they will burn.
Examples:
STOVES FUEL
HEATING APPLIANCES
FIREPLACES
DAMAGED WIRING

Heat is the energy necessary to

increase the temperature of Fuel + Oxygen The air we breathe is about
the fuel to a point where + Heat = Fire 21% oxygen. Fire requires
sufficient vapors are given off an atmosphere with at least
for ignition to occur. HEAT OXYGEN 16% oxygen.
Stages of Fire
 Fire Investigation Basics
Work from the least damaged areas to the most heavily damaged areas.

Document with notes, photographs, and videos.

Collect evidence (accelerant samples, fire items, and other crime scene evidence.)

Interview witnesses

Determine the point of origin.

Determine the heat source(s).

Hypothesize the reasons for the fire.

 Is it an Accident?

Accidental causes of fire include:

Cigarette smoking
Overheated electrical motors
Improperly cleaned and regulated heating systems
Faulty wiring

9
 Accident or Arson?
Accidental Nature
Heating System
Electrical appliances
Lightning
Children playing with matches
Smoking
Non-Accident
Odors – Gas, kerosene, or other accelerants
Furnishing – Removal of personal objects and valuables
Clothing – Check debris for buttons, zippers, etc
Locked windows, blocked doors
Two or more points of origin
Look for inverted v-patterns (can be a sign that an accelerant was used)
Floors charred –Can indicate use of an accelerant
Trailers that lead the fire from one place to another
inverted v-pattern Charred floor
 What is Arson?
Arson is the intentional setting of a fire to a structure or wild land area.
Arson is a complex crime and difficult to prove.
The crime scene generally has extensive destruction.
The crime scene technician has a limited role. A trained arson investigator will
conduct a thorough investigation and make the final determination.

Multiple points of origin

Clues of an Arson
Strange odors
Accelerant soaked rags will keep the fire low or localized, not traveling up as usual
Extensive regions of low burn
Faster and hotter fire than would be expected.
Empty containers of accelerants, time delay devices, and other items left by the
perpetrator
 Targets/ Motivations of Arson
Anything that a person wants damaged by fire
Motives for Arson:
Revenge – personal or professional vendettas

Vandalism – crime of opportunity

Profit – Monetary gain To collect insurance money

• To facilitate extortion
• To eliminate competition
Crime Concealment – attempting to cover another crime.

Excitement – Sense of power or seeking recognition

Extremism – Social protest again governments or corporations.

 The search for relevant chemical
materials
Search for traces of flammable liquid residues may be aided by the use of a highly
sensitive portable vapor detector or a “sniffer.”

Arson Dogs as “Sniffers”

 Collection of evidence
At the suspected point of the origin of a fire, ash and soot, along with porous materials that
may contain excess accelerant, should be collected and stored in airtight containers, leaving
an airspace to remove samples.
Traces of flammable liquid residues may be located with a
vapor detector (sniffer).
It is important that a sampling of similar but
uncontaminated control specimens be collected.
A search for igniters, such as matches, an electrical
sparking device, or parts of a “Molotov cocktail” must also
be conducted.

In the laboratory, the gas chromatograph is the most

sensitive and reliable instrument for detecting and
characterizing flammable residues.
 What are the fire patterns?
Common Fire Patterns include:

Classic V- Shape

Inverted Cone

Protected Area

Clean Burn

Run Down Burn

Ignitable Liquid Pour Pattern

 Classic V-Shape
V-Patterns - Fire burns up, in a V-shaped pattern, so a fire
that starts at an outlet against a wall leaves a char pattern that
points to the origin.

A very narrow V-shape might indicate a fire that was

hotter than normal, such as one helped along by an
accelerant.
A wide V-shape might indicate a fire that was slow
burning.
A U-shape could indicate that there was a "pool of origin"
rather than a point of origin, such as might be caused by,
say, a puddle of gasoline.
Char: blackened remains of
carbon-based material after it
burns
• Helps determine:
• Direction of fire spread
• Apparent duration and
intensity

A char pattern on a door would help an

investigator determine which side of the
door the fire was on.

A char pattern on the floor would help

investigators determine the use of an
accelerant and its path.
 Dynamics of Patterns
Recognition of fire patterns depends on the investigators understanding of the
development of fire, heat, and flame spread.
Heat moves by convection, conduction, and radiation.
These produce the fire patterns and the nature of flame, heat, and smoke
movement within a structure.

Fire Behavior
Normally a fire moves in an upward direction and
so the point of origin will most likely be located
closest to the lowest point that shows the most
intense burning.
The picture shows the point of origin to be the
computer.
• Heat transfer by convection, conduction, and radiation significantly
influences fire behavior, including flame patterns and the movement of
heat and smoke within a structure.

• Convection involves the transfer of heat through the movement of fluids

(like air) due to temperature differences.

• Conduction is the transfer of heat through direct contact between

materials.

• Radiation is the transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves, even

through a vacuum.

• These mechanisms work together to determine how a fire spreads and the
 Arson Investigation Sequence
• The following is a general sequence of an arson investigation:
Arson Investigation Sequence
 Arson Investigation Sequence: Phase 2 continued
4. Origin and Cause Determination:
Systematic Search for the Area of Origin: Often starts from areas of least damage to most severe damage, following "V"
patterns or other indicators of fire spread.
Identification of Point of Origin: Pinpointing the exact location where the fire started.
Investigation for Ignition Source: Determining how the fire started (e.g., electrical, mechanical, chemical, open flame).
Investigation for First Fuel Ignited: What material first ignited.
Identification of Accelerants: Searching for evidence of ignitable liquids (e.g., distinct burn patterns, odor, containers).
Exclusion of Accidental Causes: Systematically ruling out all possible accidental causes before classifying a fire as
incendiary.

5. Evidence Collection and Packaging:

Collection of Samples:
• Suspected ignitable liquid samples (e.g., from pour patterns, charred debris, absorbent materials).
• Control samples from areas not affected by the fire.
• Electrical components, heating devices, or other potential ignition sources.
• Footwear impressions, tool marks, or fingerprints.
• Any other items of evidentiary value.
Proper Packaging: Use of airtight, non-reactive containers (e.g., new, clean metal cans) for ignitable liquid samples to
prevent evaporation and contamination.
Chain of Custody: Meticulous documentation of every piece of evidence, including its collection location, date, time, and by
whom. Maintaining a strict chain of custody is crucial for admissibility in court.
Arson Investigation Sequence
Arson Investigation Sequence: Phase 3 continued
Arson Investigation Sequence: Phase 4
Arson Investigation
Thank you