Unit V Case Study Assignment

You are a fire investigator responding to fire that was recently extinguished at a local business. The business is a fabric
store that had been in operation for approximately thirty years. The damage to the building was substantial, and a lot of
merchandise was lost. The fire occurred at night, and the owners were not in the building. The owners do not believe that
they left any electronics turned on, and they did not light candles in the building; however, the building’s electric heat was
running. The owners are quite concerned that the fire was set intentionally, as there have been recent fires in the area set
by local youth.
You begin your investigation and notice multiple areas of origin, slight odor of an accelerant, an empty container, and an
unsecured door at the rear of the building. All areas of origin have a V-pattern appearance with conclusive evidence of
charring that indicates the fire\’s spread in relationship to combustible products. Also, you see the fire protection system
that included both smoke and sprinkler activation, which helped to contain the fire within the building.
Explain the process that you would use to document the evidence. Explain what you would document, why, and how you
would use it. Your case study should be at least 500 words in length (approximately two full pages in length, not including
the title and reference pages). Be sure to format your paper using APA standards.
FIR 4315, Fire Investigation Technician 4
Please note: You should be very creative in your investigative approach to include the scientific method and any safety
efforts that taken by the fabric store, such as the use and purpose of captured surveillance camera coverage.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Process used to document the evidence
Understanding how the fire started is critical in taking the next course of action. Since the fire took place at night and the owners were not around, the most reliable witness would be the neighbors living in the area. The witnesses can explain how they first discovered the fire, its intensity at the time of discovery and how long it took before the response. Such information is relevant for understanding the possible cause of the fire and the damage that might have been caused in the process.
Documenting Conditions at The Fire Scene
First, I would secure the fire scene to ensure easy documentation, collection, and preservation of evidence for further investigations, laboratory analyses, and court proceedings (Beers, 2014). Besides, I would establish strict control of the fire scene to ensure that evidence is collected, transported, and stored without any contamination. On this step of fire documentation, I would be seeking to understand the status of the scene on arrival. One thing to look at is the perceptible damage to the building. For instance,….