How do firefighters (or investigators idk) find the cause of a fire? Isn’t that super hard if everything is just ash and dust?
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17 year veteran arson investigator (now retired) here –
If I were to explain my job to a true 5-year-old, I would say “I had *tons* of training that showed me how to interpret the damage fire leaves behind when it burns. If the fire completely burns up everything, leaving nothing behind, I would have to find other evidence. If I can’t find anything, I have an ethical and moral obligation to say ‘I don’t know’.”
There is so much that goes into a fire investigation, it would be impossible to give all of the details here (nor would I want to give potential arsonists a guide on how to effectively set a fire). Most of the answers you’ll hear are only generalities and “rules of thumb”; the investigation has to address all of the fuels’ locations and materials, building openings and ventilation paths, as well as all potential ignition sources in the area of fire origin once the origin itself has been determined.
Additionally, there are non-physical pieces of evidence to consider; witness statements, electronic evidence, and financial documents. Whether or not the fire investigator assigned to the case can conduct a criminal investigation varies by jurisdiction.
Does that help? I know it’s vague, but fire scenes should be treated as undetermined until proof is found that supports a cause determination.
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