Tony,

When I was the chief of a department I had a real problem with the engine company filling out those reports when a investigator was not called to the scene.

I just reviewed a couple of fire report from different department in Louisiana. On the first one the engine company listed under ignition factor an incendiary device and the fire originated in a bedroom. The investigators report stated the fire was due to an unknown electrical failure and the fire originated in the attic. The second one was the report from two different engine companies on the same fire. The first company said the fire originated on the first floor and ignition source was unknown. The second stated the fire originated in a bedroom on the second floor with the ignition factor being improperly discarded smoking material.

You would think if they were on the same fire incident they would work together to make sure the reports agreed. This does not hold true to just the fire service, on that fire we had together there was a fire investigator and a engineer from the same company issued separate reports with different conclusions.

I like the example of the candle and the sauna.

Take care

Jim