Fire Fighting Techniques and Forensic Awareness on Scene Evidence Presentation - Essay Example

Fire Fighting Techniques and Forensic Awareness on Scene Evidence Presentation My Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Introduction In fire cases, the prosecution always depend on the experience and expertise of the investigator in interpreting diagnostic fire behaviour signs at the arson scene (Stauffer 2013, p. 1). The investigator must be able to do careful investigation to get into detail of the possible arsonist. On the other hand, fire techniques and awareness can point at the clue of the possible arsonist. Moreover, the technique of fighting fire also gives a clue of its origin and extent. If the investigator has a full experience on the fire fighting techniques and in depth awareness of the fires, then he or she is capable of presenting reliable evidences about the fire scene (Kloot 2009, p.129). Fire fighting techniques help investigators to know the experience and nature of arsonists. Furthemore, the investigator can also look at other factors like fuel availability that may also give an insight of the arsonist (Merrill 2013, p.1). Concisely, this paper discusses how fire tactics and forensic awareness are critical in the fire evidence presentation. The behaviours of fire Before understanding fire fighting tactics, it is important for the investigators and witnesses to comprehend the fire triangle (Merrill 2013, p.1). This will enable them to understand fire basis before presenting their evidence. Fire managers have the obligation of presenting evidence about fire scenes thus they require knowledge on the basic and scientific principles that explains spreading of fires. In addition, fires depend on chemistry and physical combustion. For combustion to begin there has to be three fundamental elements of oxygen, fuel and heat (Merrill 2013, p.1). Besides, there must be proper proportions of these elements for fire to start. Before presenting the evidence, the fire managers must first notify the court that all these fire elements were available in enough quantities to initiate the process. Moreover, the knowledge of fire triangle is also vital in suppressing and preventing fires. Removal of any of these elements definitely reduces fire intensity. The three fundamentals of fire also make it possible to classify fire up to three phases. Phase one is the preheating stage where arsonists may heat the fuels, dry them and convert them into ignitable gases (Merrill 2013, p.1). Stage two or second phase involves continuous gas distillation accompanied by burning and releases energy in the form of heat and light. The fire managers must understand that the ignition source takes place between these first two phases. When investigating the course of fire, the investigator must collect enough evidence between these two phases. Glowing phase is the third stage or phase (Merrill 2013, p.1). In this phase, the fuel, that partially burn from the previous stage glows while burning thus leaving residues in the form of ash. The remains give room for the fire managers to collect evidence that they will present to the forensic investigators. Suppression tactic of fighting fire One of the tactics of fighting arsons is by removing fire components to prevent its spreading (Young, Corsun & Shinnar 2004, p. 30). The fire fighters can decide to remove air, heat or fuel. Moreover, they can extinguish it using water or soil to act as suppression agents that cools the fuel below its ignition point. On the other hand, these suppression agents smother fire by cutting oxygen supply. A good knowledge of fire suppression enables fire managers to collect enough evidence on the origin and the extent of fire. Too hot and quick fires need indirect attack as a method of suppression. Fire fighters may construct fire lines near or away from the scene but within its path. Nonetheless, they can also use heavy equipments and hand tools by tying them to natural barriers like rivers, rocks, lakes and other sources of water. Eventually, the fire managing team will remove the fuel at front of approaching fire by burning it out from this fire line towards the main scene. Horse streams Though there has been a limited research on the use of horse streams, they have been instrumental in fighting fires (Stauffer 2013, p.1). This is water application in fighting fires. It is vital to understand the effectiveness of such methods since it impacts on tactical decisions, water supply and equipment choices that have influence on the fire managers. Horse streams are applicable when fires are big and have a lot of fuel to support the combustion process. In giving the evidence, this method of fire fighting will determine if the fire was an arson attack or not. On the other hand, the tactic first identifies the source of the fire. Ventilation attack Ventilation attack is also vital in fighting fires. This tactic applies in closed fires where the fire managers create space and also manages the fire spaces (Oliveira 2008, p. 231). Smoke is one of the main risks of fires. In the ventilation attack strategy, the fire fighters get to determine the type of the smoke that emanates from the fire and thus getting a clue on the source of the fire. Smoke has heat, poisonous gases and also obscures visions (Stauffer 2013, p.1). A well trained forensic investigator has the ability to point out the type of smoke that is strange to the fire scene making it possible to infer about the possible causes of the fire. This type of information is important in the court room since it will support the evidence that the investigator collects. Finally, in this method, fire fighters take control of the fire from outside by gaining advantage in their internal fire fighting tactics. 3D fire fighting technique This new technique strives to improve the effectiveness and safety of the fire fighting individuals. The Swedish Fire Service did introduce 3D technique (Hartin 2008, p.1). This technique reviews all other fire fighting techniques and also makes recommendations for future developments. It addresses fire structures in their gaseous stage or phase rather than the fuel stage or phase. This implies that the tactic provides for the training fire fighters about the fire fighting behaviour as well as fire dynamics using a practical approach (Hartin 2008, p.1). The result of 3D technique is the awareness and greater appreciation of the ventilation profiles as well as countering techniques that are applicable when entering fire compartments. On the other hand, they allow the fire fighters to remain safe. Moreover, these types of fire fighters get the sense of recognizing risks, evaluating risks and eventually managing such risks. 3D fire instructors use some special techniques while training their fire fighters like Visual Pattern Recognition (VPR) and the Problem Based Learning (PBL) (Hartin 2008, p.1). 3D technique has led to a new dimension in collecting forensic evidences as it enables the fire fighters to enter scenes to collect substantive evidence for court presentation. Most of the fire fighters leave out safely and can tell the origin of fires from its intensity. Importance of forensic awareness on fire scene evidence presentation Forensic science requires evidence presenters to be of sound mind when making their presentation (Goodier 2007, p.42). In fire cases, the investigators must be able to collect evidence and communicate them in a proper and comprehensive manner in the courts. Firstly, it is vital to understand the importance of chain of custody since it is the first step in evidence collection. The investigators must respect and fulfil this provision. There has been an increase in the number of individuals taking part in the evidences thus posing challenges to forensic scientists. When many people work on the same evidence, it becomes difficult to make a conclusion on the collected samples and data (Stauffer 2013, p.1). On the other hand, forensic awareness is vital because fire fighters who lack professionalism can affect chain of custody resulting to non-admission of these evidences in the courts. Moreover, it may lead to evidence contamination. Chain of custody must be irreproachable to allow for the maintenance of the sample integrity as well as the significance of the results (Goodier 2007, p.43). Chain of custody never stops at the laboratory once the investigating team receives evidences from the crime scenes. Many scientists will have to work on the evidences but must keep in mind chain of custody when dealing with these evidences in the laboratories (Goodier 2007, p.42). In arson cases, this chain begins at fire scenes. At this point, the fire investigator seeks to find out fire causes, samples all the evidences and eventually analyses these results in the laboratory. All of these steps may also prompt the investigator to make some changes. Moreover, Forensic science has created room for high specialisation levels thus many forensic personnel are overcrowding the field. The implication is that evidences pass through different persons. For instance, fire evidence samples pass through multiple hands; from fire investigator, to the personnel supervising the evidence collection and fire debris analyst (Stauffer 2013, p.1). On the other hand, any step results in changing and contamination of the results. Concisely, it is imperative for the persons giving evidence and carrying out the investigations to understand the science of forensics that bars them from tampering with chain of custody of such information (Kloot 2009, p.130). Forensic awareness also requires the scientists to understand and be aware of the quality control (Goodier 2007, p.42). Recently, the forensic have received a lot of criticism since their work quality did not reach acceptable levels (Kloot 2009, p.132). Fire investigators understand the validity of the procedures that they use as well as their application. Furthermore, they must also appreciate that new technology has led to the development of new analysis methods for forensic scientists. Forensic scientists now have a variety of procedures to choose from when dealing with evidences. In previous years, fire analysts only had to choose the only available technique of ignitable liquid residues (ILR) of fire recovery (Stauffer 2013, p.1). Moreover, this era accepted the use of steam distillation that the current world sees as limited knowledge in forensic science. Conclusion In a nut shell, the prosecution largely look upon the investigators to collect supportive evidence to find out the possible arsonist. The investigator has the responsibility to make sure that he or she understands and interprets fire behaviours. However, fire behaviours will also determine the fire fighting tactics that is applicable for such cases. Besides, investigators can make conclusions of fire origin from their fire fighting techniques. This paper has provided a detailed discussion on fire fighting tactics like ventilation attack, horse streams tactic, suppression tactic and the new 3D fire fighting technique. Moreover, the paper has also discussed importance of forensic awareness on the evidence presentation with regards to fire cases. Most importantly, evidence handlers must understand the importance of maintaining chain custody when presenting fire scene evidences. References Goodier, J 2007, ‘World of Forensic Science’, Reference Reviews’, vol. 21, no. 1, pp.42- 43. Hartin, E October 31 2008, Applying “3D” Firefigting to the Fireground, Firefighter Nation, viewed 1 November 2013 < http://www.firefighternation.com/article/firefighting-operations/applying-3d-firefighting-fireground>. Kloot, L 2009, ‘Performance measurement and accountability in an Australian fire service’, International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 22, no. 2, pp.128 – 145. Merrill, T. A, 31 October 2013, the professional volunteer fire department, Fire Engineering, viewed 1 November 2013 http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2013/10/the-professional-volunteer-fire-department-part-9-preplanning.html Oliveira, M.A2008, ‘Fighting a smoky fire: an analysis of Philip Morris's CEO speeches according to image restoration strategies’, Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 4, no. 1/2, pp.228 – 245. Stauffer, E 2013, The role of the forensic scientist in the New Millennium with the Example of fire Debris Analysis, viewed 1 November 2013 http://yfsf.aafs.org/content/role-forensic-scientist-new-millennium-example-fire-debris-analysis-eric-stauffer Young, C.A, Corsun, D. L & Shinnar, R. S 2004, ‘Moving from fire-fighting to fire prevention: what service organizations need to know’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 16, no. 1, pp.27 - 36 Read More