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The Suffolk Fire Investigation Team
to pull burning straw from it. I n so doing, he caught a brick pillar, which collapsed on to his head, and occasioned him grave injuries. The action in negligence which he later brought against the Fire Authority met with success. Sachs L. .J. in the Court of Appeal observed that it was " . . . . . a surprising thing to have put forward as a serious proposition that a member of a fire fighting team should have been allowed by the officer in charge of operations to dart in and out of the barn in such conditions without a helmet." I t should be added that this decision tended to create very real concern in some brigades. The problem to which it relates is perhaps intractable. On the one hand, assistance from a person with particular knowledge of premises can be most valuable, but there is sometimes, on the other hand, the difficulty of unwelcome "assistance", from fraught occupiers whose eagerness it is none too easy to restrain. As is the case with many areas of law, the tort of negligence is a field which grows swiftly. I n particular, recent years have witnessed considerable advance in a n aspect which must interest those involved in fire prevention, namely liability for harm arising from the giving of careless advice. This, however, is an aspect which must await treatment as part of a subject to which a later paper is to be devoted, namely the law relating to Professional Liability. All in all, Fire and the Law is a multi-facetted topic. As with Food and Drugs Law, it goes to the heart of our existence. From the current series on BBC 2 on "The Ascent of Man" comes vivid testimony of this truth-namely Dr. Bronowski's simple assertion that: "Man survived because of the master invention of them all-fire". (This paper is based on a presentation made at the Spring Symposium of the Society in Durham, April 1982).
The Suffolk Fire Investigation Team B. A. LEECH Fire Service Headquarters, Colchester Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom IP4 4SS
Abstract This paper describes how the Suffolk Fire Service, together with the Suffolk Police, approached the investigation of certain fires, why this approach should be considered necessary, how it had been achieved and its success to date. Journal of the Forensic Science Society 1982; 22: 402-403 Received 17 May I982 There was very little doubt that in many Fire Brigades considerable scope existed for improving methods, procedures and training in fire investigation. The fire incidents in Humberside during 1973-1979, which were widely reported, and in which there was a serious loss of life, had not only highlighted this need but had also triggered the Fire Service into taking some positive action. The Fire Service College had introduced a Fire Investigation Course which involved the police and Forensic Department. Training courses were being
introduced a t local level for both junior and senior officers. I n addition procedures and methods were being improved in many Brigades by the introduction of Fire Investigation Teams. The Suffolk Fire Service decided the best way to carry out proper and meaningful fire investigation was by forming a Fire Investigation team, not as a result of the deficiencies and problems highlighted by the Humberside incidents, but because of a different set of circumstances adding up to the same deficiencies and problems. Briefly, three fire incidents occurred in Suffolk in 1979. The incidents were in different buildings within the same premises over a period of 10 weeks. The first incident was investigated by the Fire Officer in Charge and the supposed cause recorded as an electrical fault. The second fire was extinguished by an employee and the fire service was not called. The third incident was the most serious and involved fire damage in excess of L450,OOO. I n this incident, fire fighting was prolonged and fire investigation did not begin until some 18 hours after the initial call. Eventually an employee admitted starting the first and third fires. This admission was retracted prior to Court appearance and the final outcome was that the cases were dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence. These were two glaring examples where lack of procedure and methods, coupled with the inflexibility of the Fire Service system, resulted in poor and inadequate fire investigation. The essential needs for proper fire investigation are: early investigation; continuity; proper procedures ; adequate training; good liaison and communication with those organisations who also may be involved in fire investigation (police, forensic and insurance) ; equipment. Accepting this, the Suffolk Fire Service decided the only way to meet all the above needs was to form an Investigation Team from officers who were prepared to give the flexibility which might be required to provide the continuity and complete an investigation. Such a team was formed in the early part of 1980 from twelve officers who readily volunteered. A set of comprehensive procedures was drawn up in close co-operation with the Suffolk police, which took into account the liaison and consultation with the Forensic Department and Insurance. In the author's opinion the team is not only successful in investigating fires properly but there is a considerable spin-off towards improving other areas of Fire Service work. A comprehensive and growing collection of case histories, together with photographs and slides is being compiled at Brigade Headquarters, which contains valuable information for training purposes. There is no way of drawing a direct comparison of the results of investigations within the Brigade, but looking a t the national figures published by the Fire Protection Association, which show 136 large fires for the period 1st January to 30th September 1981, it is significant that the causes were 47 malicious or suspected malicious and 45 unknown. From the 70 fires investigated over a period of twenty-three months by the Suffolk Fire Investigation Team, 34 were malicious or suspected malicious and 4 were unknown. Perhaps this has something to do with improved fire investigation. a
(This paper is based on a presentation made at the Spring Symposium of the Society in Durham, April 1982).
The Suffolk Fire Investigation Team B. A. LEECH Fire Service Headquarters, Colchester Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom IP4 4SS
Abstract This paper describes how the Suffolk Fire Service, together with the Suffolk Police, approached the investigation of certain fires, why this approach should be considered necessary, how it had been achieved and its success to date. Journal of the Forensic Science Society 1982; 22: 402-403 Received 17 May I982 There was very little doubt that in many Fire Brigades considerable scope existed for improving methods, procedures and training in fire investigation. The fire incidents in Humberside during 1973-1979, which were widely reported, and in which there was a serious loss of life, had not only highlighted this need but had also triggered the Fire Service into taking some positive action. The Fire Service College had introduced a Fire Investigation Course which involved the police and Forensic Department. Training courses were being
introduced a t local level for both junior and senior officers. I n addition procedures and methods were being improved in many Brigades by the introduction of Fire Investigation Teams. The Suffolk Fire Service decided the best way to carry out proper and meaningful fire investigation was by forming a Fire Investigation team, not as a result of the deficiencies and problems highlighted by the Humberside incidents, but because of a different set of circumstances adding up to the same deficiencies and problems. Briefly, three fire incidents occurred in Suffolk in 1979. The incidents were in different buildings within the same premises over a period of 10 weeks. The first incident was investigated by the Fire Officer in Charge and the supposed cause recorded as an electrical fault. The second fire was extinguished by an employee and the fire service was not called. The third incident was the most serious and involved fire damage in excess of L450,OOO. I n this incident, fire fighting was prolonged and fire investigation did not begin until some 18 hours after the initial call. Eventually an employee admitted starting the first and third fires. This admission was retracted prior to Court appearance and the final outcome was that the cases were dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence. These were two glaring examples where lack of procedure and methods, coupled with the inflexibility of the Fire Service system, resulted in poor and inadequate fire investigation. The essential needs for proper fire investigation are: early investigation; continuity; proper procedures ; adequate training; good liaison and communication with those organisations who also may be involved in fire investigation (police, forensic and insurance) ; equipment. Accepting this, the Suffolk Fire Service decided the only way to meet all the above needs was to form an Investigation Team from officers who were prepared to give the flexibility which might be required to provide the continuity and complete an investigation. Such a team was formed in the early part of 1980 from twelve officers who readily volunteered. A set of comprehensive procedures was drawn up in close co-operation with the Suffolk police, which took into account the liaison and consultation with the Forensic Department and Insurance. In the author's opinion the team is not only successful in investigating fires properly but there is a considerable spin-off towards improving other areas of Fire Service work. A comprehensive and growing collection of case histories, together with photographs and slides is being compiled at Brigade Headquarters, which contains valuable information for training purposes. There is no way of drawing a direct comparison of the results of investigations within the Brigade, but looking a t the national figures published by the Fire Protection Association, which show 136 large fires for the period 1st January to 30th September 1981, it is significant that the causes were 47 malicious or suspected malicious and 45 unknown. From the 70 fires investigated over a period of twenty-three months by the Suffolk Fire Investigation Team, 34 were malicious or suspected malicious and 4 were unknown. Perhaps this has something to do with improved fire investigation. a
(This paper is based on a presentation made at the Spring Symposium of the Society in Durham, April 1982).