RPS ARSON INVESTIGATION SERVICES
Specializing in fire investigations related matters, Royal Protection Services personnel include Arson Experts which assist our clients, individual and corporate, to resolve cases involving losses due to fire. We initially perform a complete and thorough origin and cause investigation. We determine where the fire started and then make every effort to determine what caused the fire to occur. The entire scene is photographed and evidence is properly collected and preserved for future testing. Investigators are trained in the art of witness interviewing and obtain skills necessary to determine if the fire was caused by accident, an intentional act (arson), or due to an act of nature. RPS investigators perform realistic non-assumptive investigations and know when to list a fire as un-determined (those cases where factual and provable evidence is simply not available to support any of the three previously listed categories). RPS investigators have the experience and expertise to serve as fire expert witnesses, for court room testimonial purposes.
RPS Fire Analysis Consultation Services
Our pledge is to assist our clients in evaluating individual cases involving fire losses so that strategic decisions can be made utilizing up to date research and expertise. We maintain an up to date list of experts in areas that may not be in our realm of expertise. We invite your questions.
RPS Arson Investigation Services includes the following:
Structural Fires- (commercial/residential)
Vehicle Fires- (personal/farm machinery/agricultural equipment)
Explosions- (liquid and gas)
Wild Land Fires
Arc Mapping
Metallurgical Failures
Criminal Defense
Manufacture Product Liability
Assistance in Court Litigation
Insurance Firm- (insurance claim investigational services)
Royal Protection Services handles each Arson Investigation case with multiple expert teams including private detectives, electrical experts, furnace experts, metallurgical teams and laboratory personnel. The collaboration of these talents insures that most fire cases are resolved within a reasonable time.
About Royal Protection Services Arson Investigations
The investigation of a fire begins at the desk of the adjuster immediately after the damages are reported. At that point RPS investigators are contacted and arrive on scene to begin their origin and cause investigation. This initial investigation is totally non-assumptive in nature in that the main purpose is to document and record the data available at the scene. During the course of the initial investigation empirical data is being obtained (data based on observation, experience and is verifiable- NFPA 921 4.3.3) and RPS investigators are developing hypothesis as to the origin and cause of the fire. As evidence is collected it is then analyzed and after all evidence is collected a determination as to the cause of the fire is made. In the event the fire is determined to be accidental or caused due to an act of nature all data recorded and evidence collected is secured for further analysis and a complete report is submitted for additional review. If the evidence suggests an intentional fire set (arson) then the investigator(s) begin formulate hypothesis based on their data analysis (facts and evidence obtained during the origin and cause investigation). The hypothesis must then be tested and the test must pass the principal of inductive reasoning challenges (the hypothesis is compared to all known facts as well as the body of scientific knowledge associated with the phenomenon-NFPA 921 4.3.6). The investigation moves into the criminal arena if these tests are met. In the event there is a lack of empirical data available and the hypothesis fail to meet the inductive reasoning challenge then the fire must be listed as undetermined.
Arson accounts for billions of dollars in property losses each year to the public and private sectors, as well as to the insurance industry. Similar to burglary and theft, arson is also a crime of stealth. The perpetrator of arson does not want to be seen committing his cowardly act. Most arson fires, therefore, occur at night and normally when no one is in the structure. Arson for profit conducted by the insured is usually planned well ahead and the insured usually has a solid alibi far from the scene.
If there are indicators that the fire did not occur as reported, then an independent fire expert should be assigned to conduct the scene examination. If the fire is determined to be arson by the local officials or by an independent fire expert, Royal Protection Services (RPS) recommends letting the investigator do a complete and thorough follow-up investigation. The scene will often link the crime of arson to the perpetrator.
About Arson Motives
All fires fall into one of three categories: Accidental, Incendiary or Providential. Most fraudulent fires fit into the incendiary category, and where fraudulent fire occurs, a human hand is always involved. Somewhere, perhaps hidden in a maze of seemingly unimportant facts, lays a motive.
Motive may be the first indication of potential arson. Establishment of a motive also aids in identifying a potential or possible suspect. The following seven motives for incendiary fires are routine for fire investigators:
1. Fraud
2. Vandalism (such as in Riots)
3. Jealousy
4. Revenge
5. Thrill (Pyromaniac or Juvenile)
6. Terrorism
7. Effort to hide another crime
Red Flags in the Fire Scene
Large amount of damage
Low burning
Unidentifiable point of origin
No "V" burn patterns present
Lack of accidental causes
Separate and unconnected fires
Unusual burn patterns and high heat stress
Windows blown away from structure
Evidence of forced entry
Missing inventory
Missing personal items such as photos, bibles, yearbooks, weapons, jewelry
Evidence of a previous fire
Unkempt yard
"For sale" signs
Fuel cans
Fire extending beyond the perimeter of the structure
These and more can be an indication that fraud may be the cause of the fire.
Red Flags in Claims of Fire
Fires occurring at night
Insured out of town and with solid alibi
Recently issued policy
Recent endorsement to policy
Insured overly pushy
Insured very familiar with insurance terms
Insured behind on mortgage payments
Previous claims by insured
Hand-delivered proof of loss
Fires occurring close to expiration date of policy
Over-insured property
Property for sale
List of out of state suppliers
Many antiques claimed as destroyed
Sprinkler system recently de-activated
Alarm system not set
Recent decline in utility use
Business or liquor license lost by insured
Lease with fire-termination clause
Company needing to upgrade old equipment
Stock becoming obsolete (shoes, clothing, food products)
If it appears that the insured will benefit in any manner from the fire, even indirectly, the fire warrants further investigation. RPS will provide its clients with internal audits of claim files to identify and weigh indicators of fraud. Simply contact us and ask to speak with one of our arson investigation managers.
ASTM Standard E 1397-95 and the Role of the Fire Investigator
Standard Test Method for Ignitable Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris samples by Gas Chromatography and the Role of the Fire Investigator.
ASTM is an abbreviation for the American Society of Testing Materials. It is becoming vital that every fire investigator and insurance claims manager that reads fire investigation reports become familiar with this organization. ASTM Standard E 1397-95 is of extreme importance. The actual name of the standard is STANDARD TEST METHOD FOR IGNITABLE LIQUID RESIDUES IN EXTRACTS FROM FIRE DEBRIS SAMPLES BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY. The title could not be less interesting for most people.
ASTM sets various standards via its committee system much like the NFPA does in its operation. Standard E 1397-95 is classified under Forensic Sciences and sub classified under Criminality. The ASTM standards are generally professional in content and scientifically correct. This author submits that an awareness of and an understanding of the standard should be considered a minimum in knowledge of fire investigations for any fire investigator. The day is long gone when a fire investigator was simply a police officer or a fire fighter who is sent to a two week fire investigation school and then sent into the field to conduct investigations. In the "good old days" all one needed to know was that fire burns up, low burns mean flammable fluid, and specific burn patterns and blisters on wood meant arson. Knowledge of electrical fires centered upon wires that were "arced" or "beaded" to make a determination of an electrical fire. Life was much simpler, even if the basis for those conclusions often had no scientific support.
The minimum expectation today is that the fire investigation be able to withstand the scrutiny of SCIENCE as a basis for the conclusion. Understanding and being able to discuss your lab test results is imperative to understanding the results of the testing, and more significantly the results of your investigation. Above all else, the final; end- product of an investigation should be a conclusion based on scientific certainty. NFPA 921 (GUIDE FOR FIRE INVESTIGATIONS) speaks of levels of certainty using the scientific method and THE systematic approach when performing fire investigations. NFPA 1033 (FIRE INVESTIGATION STANDARDS) are familiar to and utilized by RPS investigators in an effort to insure approved recognizable methods of performing fire investigations are utilized. The innocence of a subject as well as the guilt of a subject is paramount to the investigator. No investigation should be tailored to either stop an insurance claim or to prove an innocent person guilty. One of the things ASTM E 1387 did was to insure that there is a standard that all labs should adhere to in testing fire debris and more importantly, that there is a standard of interpretation of results.
Section 10.6 of the standard clearly notes that "... once a peak starts, it should match a standard until the pattern ends. Peaks missing from the middle of a pattern are usually sufficient grounds for concluding that there is not a match between the sample and the standard."
Section 11.2 speaks to the fact that the lab should describe the material submitted and not simply rely on the description given by the submitting agency. While the burden is on the submitting agent to accurately and carefully describe the material submitted, it is incumbent of the lab to insure that the material is the same as described. The matter of accurate lab samples is significant. In working on a case in the Northeast recently, this office read a description of a lab sample submitted in a criminal case for analysis. The sample was sent to the lab in food containers and plastic bags because “the State Police did not have evidence containers." The private lab simply placed the material in "proper cans" and proceeded with the analysis. Aside from the fact that a man was being charged in a criminal case, the general standards of evidence handling were long forgotten in this case. The lab did the correct thing in noting the divergence from minimum standards of evidence handling. Yet, they went on to give a report that noted that even though no flammable fluids were on the sample one could have been there. That final statement while correct was at best gratuitous albeit correct. The unfortunate fact in some cases is that the sample given to the lab is not the same as the one described because of a mix up in the field.
The results of any lab test should state which preparation techniques and which lab techniques were used in reaching the conclusion noted in the report.
One of the most important statements made by the ASTM in connection with the report is found in section 11.5. For the fire investigator, and for the insurance personnel that must read the report after the investigation is complete, the following is paramount.
"Certain words should not appear without explanation in a report. All extracts from organic material are likely to contain "hydrocarbons". The word "hydrocarbon" should not appear in a report unless those hydrocarbons can be specifically identified and classified. The phrase “hydrocarbons from an unidentified source" is expressly prohibited. Similarly phrases such as "consistent with", "in the boiling range of", "similar to", "characteristic of" a particular ignitable liquid should not be used unless the liquid has been positively identified using the methods found in section 10." Section ten is the procedure described in the standard for the analysis of liquids.
The importance of section 11.5 can not be over stated. The investigator should be able to ask the reporting laboratory if they are prepared to get on the stand and say with absolute certainty that gasoline, kerosene, or some other ignitable liquid was found. Simply describing "peaks" on the gas chromatograph as being similar to a particular liquid in various aspects does not answer the question.
A recent fire in a closet investigated by this office brings the problem to light. The closet contained SCUBA equipment, clothing, sports paraphernalia, etc. The closet was consumed in the fire along with its contents. Light in the closet was provided by a drop light that may or may not have been left on several hours before the fire. Most of the components of the light system were destroyed by fire or fire department activity.
Routine lab tests indicated "patterns similar to gasoline". This left the fire investigator in the awkward position of either having to make a decision that could jeopardize speedy payment to the insured or put the investigator in an awkward position with the insurance personnel. A decision was made based on the physical evidence to call the fire undetermined based on NFPA 921. Could it have been gasoline? Perhaps, but the information from the lab was not exactly an endorsement for a flammable fluid.
The decision to pay a claim by an insurance carrier is often misunderstood by law enforcement personnel who ask why the claim is being paid since they are sure the fire was intentionally set. Obviously, if the case had such merit then it is incumbent on the jurisdictional personnel to make an arrest and not rely on a lower standard of evidence by the Civil Courts to stop an insurance claim.
The private fire investigator should be familiar with modern techniques to insure that his conclusions are based on well grounded scientific evidence and not what has been described as "old wives tales".
The author has seen lab samples submitted with notations such as "please confirm the presence of gasoline on the enclosed sample". This is not a particularly good way to receive an unbiased report from a laboratory. Regardless of the ASTM Standards the best advice to any investigator utilizing a lab is to have good communications with your lab technicians. The lab should have both the time and the interest to discuss various results and their meaning. If they are either unwilling or unable to speak with the agent providing the sample for analysis it is time for you to find a new lab. In addition, this office has found it extremely helpful to seek out laboratory personnel that have knowledge of fire investigations.
By: Michael Lane
Source: www.arson–codes.com/investstandard.asp