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Arson is a serious crime that puts property and lives at risk. Arson investigators use clues to determine if a fire was started intentionally and gather forensic evidence. They work with insurance investigators and sometimes use trained dogs to find accelerants. If the fire was not arson, detectives help determine the cause. Insurance investigators also inspect fire scenes to ensure coverage.
Arson is a fire that was caused deliberately, with malicious intent, to cover up another felony or to collect property insurance money. As a crime, arson is taken very seriously because it puts property and lives at risk. Most of the world has arson investigators, who inspect fire sites as a full-time job. Usually, these investigators are licensed by the government of the area they work in, and some work in tandem with insurance investigators, as the suspicious signs both fire specialists are looking for tend to be the same.
Arson investigators are called to the site of a suspicious fire to determine what exactly caused the fire and whether the fire was started intentionally. If the fire appears to be arson, rather than an accident, detectives will try to figure out where in the house the fire started and what was used to start it. Other law enforcement personnel will screen people involved in the case to see what their motives might have been and if they have solid alibis for when the fire occurred.
Trained arson investigators use a variety of clues to investigate a fire and are usually first on the scene so they can gather forensic evidence to examine from the site while it is still fresh. The first thing they pinpoint is the source of the fire, as this is often a vital clue. Once the site of the fire has been identified, they can determine its cause: accelerants such as flammable liquids, for example, or explosives. If an accelerant is found, the fire is generally considered arson, as most people don’t keep volatile liquids in their homes because they are unsafe.
In addition to using their eyes, arson investigators heavily photograph the scene, so that if anyone is taken to court, the jury can see the images of the site. Additionally, the images sometimes reveal vital clues that weren’t initially spotted at the scene. Arson investigators often bring in trained dogs to look for signs of accelerants and take samples to the site for chemical analysis. Support staff investigate the reported samples and work together as a team to determine the cause of the fire.
If it is decided that the fire was not arson, detectives can still help firefighters figure out what happened. Common causes of fires include open flames, kitchen fires that get out of control, and faulty wiring. In some cases, the cause of the fire may not be covered by an insurance policy: if the cause was negligence, for example, the property owner may not receive compensation. For this reason, insurance fire investigators often inspect scenes of unsuspecting fires to make sure the fire is covered. Both specialists usually train together, because they have common goals as professionals.
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