Unit VIII Scholarly Activity
Weight: 15% of course grade
Grading Rubric
Instructions
Final Report and Recording
For this final assignment, you will prepare a final investigation report and a video recording.
Part I
To complete this assignment, you will need the field notes and audio recording that you created for the Unit V Case Study. You will create a final report that should be written as a case scenario. This means that you will have to be prepared to be an expert witness in court. As the expert witness, you would need to prepare to testify and present your findings.
The final report should include support for your presentation in a court of law with additional components such as witness statements, physical evidence, basic information, cause, responsibility, and any other necessary components to support your expert witness testimony.
Part II
In addition to the written component, you are also asked to create a video recording of yourself answering the following question: What did you determine happened in this fire?
Your final report/case scenario must be two to three pages in length.
Your recording will be a narrative based on the final investigation report that you completed for this assignment. Your video should be 3 to 5 minutes.
FIR 4315, Fire Investigation Technician 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
are difficult to identify and may become reluctant to talk to fire investigators once the event has been turned
back over to the owner or renter of the property. Information from the public can come in various forms—
some public and some private. As a fire investigator, you will learn some of the basic information used in
incident reporting. This will include the location of the fire, the date and time of the incident, weather
conditions, the person reporting, the person requesting the report, description of construction, the amount of
damage caused by the fire, possible motives related to the fire, and a continued safety plan once the fire has
been extinguished. Planning a fire investigation is essential as it may involve additional manpower, such as
private consultants and engineers for analyzing all aspects of the fire, fuel sources, and appliances. It is
important to remember that the complexity of the fire scene will determine the number of details that surround
the set of circumstances and its documentation. This will include fire scene sketches, drawings, physical
evidence, and interviews.
When gathering the
information during the
interview process, the
investigator should
record the information
either on a voice recorder
or by having the witness
write out a statement and
sign it. The actual face-
to-face interview can be
recorded and then
transcribed to a written
document for the witness
to read and sign,
verifying what they told
you during the interview.
Interviews must be
carefully planned out with
proper consideration of
the safety of everyone
and the risks in the
surrounding environment.
With new technology, the investigator’s reporting systems have become wireless and user-friendly.
Additionally, they may be synced to the fire department’s mainframe reporting systems. This allows initial
information to be populated for the fire investigator. This includes the incident number, location of the incident,
accurate times, and any other prior information related to the fire scene.
Analyzing the Incident for Cause and Responsibility
The cause and responsibility of the fire is something that investigators have an obligation to consider when
getting ready to submit a case for the prosecution. The initial phase is the cause of the fire, the ignition
source, first fuel ignited, and what caused them to come together. Investigators must determine what the
construction material was and how well passive and active fire protection systems at the property complied
with fire codes and building codes. Other items that need to be determined are what caused the loss of life or
injuries in the fire and how well code enforcement was utilized in this scenario. The final issue on which the
fire investigator must reach a conclusion is the human factor involved, and was it negligence or incendiary in
nature; the answer to this question will most likely come from interviews with witnesses.
The other part of making your final determination is finding out who is responsible for the damage or spread of
the fire. Investigators must look at the structure for changes that were made during remodel that did not follow
building or fire codes. Were fire doors propped open, keeping them from closing when the alarm sounded?
Was there negligence on the part of the builder or property owner that caused the sprinkler system to fail?
The appliances and other mechanical devices need to be evaluated to determine if there was a failure that
caused the issue that started the fire.
FIR 4315, Fire Investigation Technician 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
The easiest way to determine if there are issues is through a failure analysis. This involves the application of
analytical tools to help identify the various acts or omissions and the persons who may be associated with the
fire’s ignition. A failure analysis considers all the factors that may have contributed to the injuries, loss of life,
and property damage that may result from the root of the incident. Some of the various types of analytical
tools used in performing failure analysis will include timelines, system analysis, mathematical modeling, heat
transfer analysis, hydraulic analysis, and fire dynamics analysis.
By incorporating these various failure analyses, you will be able to associate the significance of contributing
factors of the scene to the loss of life. For example the Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston in 1942 caused
a large loss of life due to the lack of exits. This course will also examine a number of other cases where this
type of analysis is performed to enhance code compliance and development.
Additionally, you will learn to understand the importance of using timelines and the purpose for creating a
failure analysis that can assist in determining the sequence of events as they unfolded. You will also learn
that when developing timelines, they should relate to exact times and dates that are identified as hard times
or hard data. In other cases, the term soft times is used when there is an estimated or generalized statement
provided by a witness.
As the fire investigator, you will realize that benchmarking events is particularly important as the foundation of
timelines and may have a significant relationship to the cause, spread, protection, and extinguishment of the
fire. Scaled times will be shown as the spacing between time intervals and events reflect the time lapse
between each sequence of events.
The fire investigator will also use analytical approaches to system analysis that take into account
characteristics, behaviors, and performances of various elements within a fire investigation. This can include
human activities, mechanical failures, or reactions to the various contents found in structure fires.
When analyzing the fire, the fire investigator can incorporate various models or approaches that help analyze
the fire incident. The most common approaches are mathematical and engineering models that include
graphic models. With mathematical models, the fire investigator develops simulation and project events as
established by scientific principles and imperial data. With graphics models, the investigator will find drawings
that illustrate the physical models and computer animations.
The fire investigator will also utilize the term meaningful analysis that requires a complete understanding of
the heat release rate, fire growth rate, and the total heat released from the various products found within
structure fires. The fault tree, commonly referred to as the decision tree, is used by fire investigators to
illustrate the various series of events and decisions that are made by the fire investigator to develop a specific
outcome to the investigation. When utilizing these types of graphics with productive reasoning, the solution or
cause of the fire may become more apparent with a defined cause and origin. The fault tree is truly a tool of
the trade. It allows fire investigators to place the chain of events into a logical order for explaining the
sequence from the ignition to fire spread.
Testimony
The fire investigator must understand the way that the courthouse functions including the procedures for both
oral and written expert testimony for civil and criminal trials. The first item that needs to be noted is that the
investigator completes a detailed and accurate report that will be presented at trial and reviewed by the
defense. The report should cover all aspects of the investigation and be based on verified information. The
ability to testify will improve with experience and through the training that the investigator continues to receive
as he or she develops.
Reference
International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Arson Investigators, & National Fire
Protection Association. (2019). Fire investigator: Principles and practice to NFPA 921 and 1033 (5th
ed.). Jones & Bartlett.
FIR 4315, Fire Investigation Technician 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
This article outlines the need to verify the expert witness in a court proceeding based on the Daubert rule.
Ford, G. T. (2005). The impact of the Daubert decision on survey research used in litigation. Journal of Public
Policy & Marketing, 24(2), 234–252.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bth&AN=18824765&site=ehost-live&scope=site
This article outlines the need for the investigator to meet the needs of an expert witness.
Herling, D. J., Williams, G. M., & Wise, J. T. (2009). Non-traditional uses of Daubert: A review of recent case
law. FDCC Quarterly, 60(1), 69–80.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bsu&AN=56531510&site=ehost-live&scope=site
This article looks at the behavioral breakdown of how expert witnesses work.
Lakoff, G. P. (2005). A cognitive scientist looks at Daubert. American Journal of Public Health, 95(S1), S114–
S120.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=asn&AN=17713698&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
This is an opportunity for you to express your thoughts about the material you are studying by writing about it.
Conceptual thinking is a great way to study because it gives you a chance to process what you have learned
and increases your ability to remember it.
Before completing your graded work, consider completing the “Case Study” and “On Scene” exercises for
Chapters 12, 19, and 20. Completing these exercises will help you with your graded work.
The exercises can be found on the following page numbers:
Chapter 12: “Case Study,” p. 230
Chapter 12: “On Scene,” pp. 239-240
Chapter 19: “Case Study,” p. 318
Chapter 19: “On Scene,” p. 322
Chapter 20: “Case Study,” p. 324
Chapter 20: “On Scene,” pp. 335-336
If you have any questions or do not understand a concept, contact your professor for clarification.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=18824765&site=ehost-live&scope=site
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=56531510&site=ehost-live&scope=site
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=56531510&site=ehost-live&scope=site
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=17713698&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII
- Unit Lesson
Introduction
Sources of Information
Analyzing the Incident for Cause and Responsibility
Testimony
Reference
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
