Glad to do it. If I hear about it coming up in reruns, I'll post the time.
There was one point that came up early in the post that has not been addressed. That is the tired old argument that because NFPA 921 changes every 3 years, it cannot be a standard. This argument is made by individuals who do not understand standards, or who do not want to be held to any standards.
In order to meet ANSI requirements, standards MUST be updated no less frequently than every five years. This is also an ISO requirement. If a standard is not updated, it becomes obsolete. Every standards development organization has rules that require regular updates, with input solicited from the public.
When Justice Blackmun wrote about the factors a trial court should ordinarily consider in deciding the relaibility of evidence, one of the factors he listed was "the existence AND MAINTENANCE of standards governing the technique's operation."
Were it not for regular updates, NFPA 921 would not be recognized as a standard of care.
(By the way, anyone who has not read the Daubert decision in the original should do so. It is much clearer than some commentators would have us believe, and it will make you hope that when you are 85, you still have the marbles to write such coherent prose.)
John Lentini, CFI, D-ABC
Fire Investigation Consultant
Florida Keys
[
www.firescientist.com]