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Re: So no causes what do yall think.
Posted by:
dcarpenter (IP Logged)
Date: June 29, 2021 06:51PM
In terms of fires that are either "accidental" or "incendiary," there is a relevant distinction involving a number of scenarios:
1) a fire initiated with no human involvement in the initiation ("accidental")
2) a fire with human involvement in the initiation with no intent to start a fire where one was not going to start otherwise ("accidental")
3) a fire initiated with human involvement with evidence of intent to start a fire where one was not going to start otherwise ("incendiary")
There WERE two paths to a determination of an "incendiary" fire, either through a determination of a fire cause (three elements required) or through other evidence that is in the incendiary fire chapter.
Unless I am missing something, based on the possible scenarios, removing the cause classification chapter seems to remove the ability to determine any fire to be incendiary (i.e. think intent) with evidence. Even if you find an ignition source on a person or at the fire scene, you have to deal with intent, regardless. There may be a number of hypotheses that fit the same data and evidence using the SM. While there may not be evidence of intent in every incendiary fire, the chapter on incendiary fires provides a subset of evidence for a reliable determination of intent, but you have removed the methodology to use intent by removing the cause classification.
Its would seem the intent of removal is to reduce the evidentiary requirements for intent. I wonder if the removal made things more difficult to arrive at a reliable determination of an incendiary fire by having to deal explicitly with the fire source as part of the fire cause.
If I "missed the boat" ... disprove me (with evidence).
Douglas J. Carpenter, MScFPE, CFEI, PE, FSFPE
Vice President & Principal Engineer
Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
8940 Old Annapolis Road, Suite L
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 884-3266
(410) 884-3267 (fax)
www.csefire.com