I agree. Back to the wild west ...

For a determination of criminality, there needs to be a determination that an arson has occurred (a legal construct). Working backwards, there is a need to determination that the arson fire was an incendiary fire (a non-legal construct). An incendiary fire produces the transition from an accidental fire, with human involvement with no intent to start a fire where one was not going to be initiated, otherwise, to an incendiary fire with human involvement, where there was an intent to initiate a fire where one was not going to be initiated, otherwise.

The discriminating factor is human intent. Evidence of human intent can exist in some, but perhaps, not all incidents. I think this is the hurdle and battlefield, where the fire investigation community is looking to close the loop on the production of "undetermined" fires that goes against gut instinct, experience, unreliable application of scientific methodology, or subjective determinations. Evidence does not always exist.

The hurdle is the argument that no one can determine human intent. In the justice system, the use of "indirect evidence," "circumstantial evidence," or surrogate evidence. The chapter on Incendiary Fires provided the path for this type of evidence to be used with reliability within the construct of the SM. The reality is that this evidence does not always exist in incendiary fires, so the most reliable outcome may have to be "accidental" until evidence is produced that disproves the accidental fire determination, and simultaneously, allows for the formulation of a valid hypothesis of an incendiary fire to be formulated.

So if the fire investigator has been removed from the process of making an incendiary fire determination, then who is responsible for such a determination? Again, what evidence and methodology is being employed to reach such a determination. How is the removal of classification chapter advancing the reliability of determination in the fire investigation community?

As 921 exists today, a determination of the three (3) elements of a Fire Cause with human involvement may not ever allow any fire incident to be determination to be an incendiary fire. How is this an advancement in the reliability and practice of fire investigations?

A human can be the factor that brings the first fuel ignited and the competent ignition source for the first item ignited to initiate the fire. But without the application of evidence of human intent, 921 will always produce an accidental fire with no ability to determine an incendiary fire.

Seems like the community is moving backwards, not forwards.

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