Improving Forensic Investigation Of Fire Incidences Presentation Help Make a presentation out of the research paper that I will attach. Please make sure th

Improving Forensic Investigation Of Fire Incidences Presentation Help Make a presentation out of the research paper that I will attach. Please make sure that is includes an outline and in presenter view cards. and don’t forget to include citations from the research. Running head: FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
Improving Forensic Investigation of Fire Incidences
Abdulaziz Alghamdy
Lynn University
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FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
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INTRODUCTION
Forensic science involves the evaluation of forensic data by an expert (a forensic
scientist) to produce reliable evidence that could be used to pursue legal action within a
region of jurisdiction on a criminal or civil offense (Taroni et. al, 2010). Fires, on the other
hand, tend to almost wholly burn-up and destroy the evidence of the possible causes, how it
originated or who was responsible for it (Fiorentini & Marmo, 2019). Investigation of fires,
therefore, requires the use of complex methods and technologies to accurately interpret how
the fire incident took place, the damage caused to both property and lives, and determine who
or what was responsible for it. This is a necessary safety measure to prevent and protect
communities from such similar future incidences (Gorbett, Meacham, & Wood, 2015).
Investigation of fire incidence has mostly involved the use of an expert to determine
the origin of fire by observing and applying scientific methods of analysis on the physical
damage caused on substance(s) affected by the fire to determine its origin. The fire expert
compares the level of damage caused on a particular material in relation to the level of
damage caused on other parts by the same fire to accurately determine where the fire
originated. In other instances, the fire expert uses eyewitness reports and fire and rescue
community works for purposes of investigation of the fire incidences and to protect the
community by preventing similar future occurrences (Simpson et. al, 2014).
Dependence on observation and interpretation of a fire incidence by a fire expert is
largely subjective and has been previously associated with a lot of bias. Statistics show that
less than a third of fire investigators have a college degree in the field of science with the
majority of the investigators having only undergone a two-week formal training of
interpreting fire and its causes (Gorbett, Meacham, & Wood, 2015). Poor interpretation of
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
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causes and occurrence of fires has in previous instances led to unlawful criminal prosecution
and execution of citizens of the United States (Beyler, 2009).
Since the early 21st century, there have been initiatives towards a systematic sciencebased approach in investigating occurrences of fire. In the United States, organizations such
as United States Fire Administration (USFA), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have collaborated and conducted
scientific research to develop a scientific-framework for analyzing and interpreting fire
patterns. A dearth of scientific evidence-based research in this field has led experts,
especially, in the legal field to issue caution when relying on the subjective interpretation of
fire investigation (Gorbett, Meacham, & Wood, 2015).
LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature on the investigation of fire occurrence can be traced to as early as
1940’s when investigators inquired on various variables such as the direction of wood
carbonization, the pattern of cracking of burnt material, ingress of moisture in concrete, depth
of charring wood (Babrauskas, 2004). Such variables have been used to develop theories and
concepts used to investigate the origin of the fire, whether the fire was an arson and how long
the fire lasted and the patterns that occurred as a result of the fire (Gorbett, Meacham, &
Wood, 2015).
In early 2000, a number of researches were done by various stakeholders, where fully
furnished living rooms and bedrooms were burned using different sources of fire and
investigations carried out on variables such as whether the fires produced similar patterns and
if the patterns could be used to identify the origin of the fire. The need to develop proper and
rigorous forensic methods was identified as a key component. In the studies there was
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
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substantial evidence of similarities in the fire patterns and that an investigator could correctly
interpret the origin of fire using scientific methods of analysis (Hicks et. al, 2008).
A research conducted on fire using differing ventilation and investigating on the rate
of fire growth and if forensic scientists could make substantial scientific conclusions from the
analysis, established that the soot from the fire could be used to determine where the fire
originated from (Wolfe, Mealy, and Gottuk, 2009). A similar study on how soot deposition
on the horns of a smoke alarm can be used to forensically determine the source of fire and if
the alarm was functioning during a fire incidence found out that the post-handling of a fire
could cause the soot to be removed partially or completely depending on fire source and thus
an investigator can easily determine the cause of the fire (Havey et. al, 2018).
A recent study in Korea, applying forensic science to investigate a fire incident caused
by a stray bullet, used closed-circuit television (CCTV) to identify the origin of the ignition
and the pattern used by fire as it rapidly spread. In the investigation, it was established that
the 15 individuals who died during the fire incident had difficulties in seeing and finding their
way out of the premise and that they were exposed to very high temperatures and as a result
of the effects produced by the stray bullet, thus they had no chance of survival (Cho et. al,
2015).
Modern fire investigations methods take cognizant of the physical and chemical laws
involved in the fire dynamics. An example of such include investigation of the natural air
flame velocity in order to determine lower and upper flammability limits of natural
combustion. Different organizations use a range of chemical and mechanical equipment to
investigate a fire incident because this increases the possibility of making an accurate
conclusion. Such equipment includes catalytic indicators, instruments used to determine the)
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
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rate of flame ionization, electronic equipment used as a sensor of photo-ionization (Nolan,
2014).
Forensic studies are among the profound investigation areas that scholars desire to
venture in, participation in this line of research investigation has proved to be one of the
toughest given the complexities during the investigations. Findings also indicate that there is
a strong relationship that exists between the effectiveness of fire and rescue services and the
community safety work. Issues of fire outbreak normally get out of hand when it comes to
deducing the cause of fire especially when insurance firms are involved in the web.
Victims normally demand compensation claiming the cause of fire is under coverage
even if the real cause may be negligence, in such situation the forensic research comes to the
rescue of the firm by investigating in detail the cause of fire to enable the two parties come to
agreement. To be sure of what forensics professionals can deliver the reliability of the service
was then subjected to assessments to find out whether there is a possibility for them to give
false results or stay accurate always (Gorbett, 2015). The findings in light of finding the
necessary loop holes in the complex investigation process was determined by filtering the
findings on the basis of the widespread impacts of both internal and external factors.
Forensic analysis is a wide area of research and investigation field, instances where
the cause of alarm has been as result of distant gunshots has also been taken into
consideration following the intensity of the investigation process. When such an investigative
operation is taken seriously positive outcomes would mean that there is possibility of arriving
at accurate results when a similar incident reoccurs, this will also imply that the forensic
investigation will have an opportunity to improve their services to the general public. The
core of forensic investigation usually depend on the laboratory analysis along with exhaustive
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
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field research activities, these techniques are very important in making conclusions with
regards to this line of investigation.
In conclusion, it is important to have thorough research so that incase of uncertain
events emerge you the forensic team based on a previous experience is able to handle the
situation with confidence give the facts that are already available. The benefits of such an
activity are a way of solving disputes that arise in different fields, insurance being the leading
one when it comes to compensation of victims of fire. Scholars are constantly bent on their
research trying to make sure that in-depth research in this field is expanded for both victims
of fire and insurance firms to mutually exist without constraints in their contractual relations
(Beyler, 2009).
The community is becoming concerned in the activities of the forensic departments,
cases of fire suicide are rampart all over the globe and so to come up with genuine
investigations it will require a professional team of forensic investigators to ensure that the
results are genuine. The safety of the community depends on the ardent effort of the forensic
team to constantly give accurate results based on the investigations they carry to win the
societies confidence. Issues to with insecurity with regard to crimes committed and scenes set
a blaze will not be a thing of the present but rather a thing of the past.
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
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References
Babrauskas, V. (2004). Wood char depth: interpretation in fire investigations. In
International Symposium on Fire Investigation (Vol. 28). Fire Science and
Technology Inc.
Beyler, C. (2009). Analysis of the fire investigation Methods and Procedures Used in the
Criminal Arson Cases Against Earnest Ray Willis and Cameron Tod Willingham.
Submitted to the Texas Forensic Science Commission.
Cho, Y., Kong, Y., Sa, S., Choi, C., Kim, D., Goh, J., … Choi, D. (2015). Forensic Analysis
on the Cause and Origin of the 2009 Indoor Shooting Range Fire in Pusan, Korea. Fire
Technology. 51(5), 1113–1128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-014-0440-3
Fiorentini, L., & Marmo, L. (2019). Principles of Forensic Engineering Applied to Industrial
Accidents. Wiley.
Gorbett, G., Meacham, B., & Wood, C. (2015). Development and Assessment of a Decision
Support Framework for Enhancing the Forensic Analysis and Interpretation of Fire
Patterns (Doctoral dissertation, Dissertation, Worcester Polytechnic Institute).
Havey, P., Jaquay, J. T., Holton, M. M., Hussain, N., & Olenick, S. M. (2018). Persistence of
Sonic Deposition on Smoke Alarms in Forensic Fire Investigations. Fire Technology,
54(6), 1631–1654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-018-0761-8
Hicks, W., Gorbett, G., Kennedy, P., Hopkins, R., amd Abney, W. (2008). “Full Scale Single
Package Fire Pattern Study” International Symposium of Fire Investigation Science
and Technology (ISFI 2008), Cincinnati, OH, June 2008.
Nolan, D. P. (2014). Handbook of fire and explosion protection engineering principles: for
oil gas, chemical and related facilities. William Andrew.
FORENSIC INVESTIGATION OF FIRE INCIDENCES
Simpson, T., Wheatley, D., Brunsden, V., & Hill, R. (2014). Fire and rescue service
community safety initiatives: measuring impact. Safer communities, 13(2), 88-100.
https://doi.org/10.1108/SC-01-2013-0001
Taroni, F., Bozzo, S., Aitken, C., Garbolino, P., Biedermann, A. (2010). Data Analysis in
Forensic Science: A Bayesian Decision Perspective. Wiley.
Wolfe, A., Mealy, C., Gottuk, D. (2009). Fire Dynamics and Forensic Analysis of Limited
Ventilation Compartment Fires. Grant No. 2007-DN-BX-K240.
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