HomeMy WebLinkAbout201.002 - Fire Reporting and Investigation Procedures
Fresno City Fire Department
200 Standard Operating Procedures Manual
SECTION 201.002 FIRE REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish the responsibilities and procedures taken by
the Fresno Fire Department (FFD or Department) when conducting fire scene
reporting, and fire origin and cause documentation.
APPLICATION
Any member of FFD that will complete an incident report or fire scene investigation.
OPERATIONAL POLICY
Department officers and members will investigate fire origin and cause as outlined in
the National Fire Protection Association 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion
Investigations and as mandated by the California State Fire Marshal’s Office, local
ordinances, and this policy. Investigations will be pursued in a proficient and
professional manner, and to an acceptable conclusion in line with this section, while
always maintaining the high standards of this Department.
All fire reports are to be accurate and completed prior to the end of the shift or prior to
going off duty.
OPERATIONAL GUIDELINE
Fire Reports: Fire reports will be completed in a timely manner, accurately, and
completely. The accuracy of reports is critical as it provides valuable statistics for the
Department to use for budgets, grants, and educational purposes. Battalion chiefs
are to review all structure fire reports for accuracy. Inaccurate reports will be returned
to the originator for correction.
Fire Loss Value/Property Value: The Department should provide an annual update to
the current market value of residential, light industrial/commercial, and commercial
construction costs. These numbers will assist members to accurately calculate the
cost of fire loss and property value saved through Department firefighting efforts.
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date: 0
Next Revision (1) Date: 0 Page 1 of 9
Utilize the table below when entering values for all structure fire reports. Values are
obtained from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/tsresources.targetsolutions.com/F6623D82-06E9-1A78-
A5E3-02CFA4E53357.xlsx:
2017 Rates:
Storage: $60/square feet
Single-Family Residential: $116/square feet
Multi-Family Residential: $106/square feet
Business (Office buildings): $126/square feet
Assembly (Restaurants, nightclubs etc.): $136/square feet
Assembly (Church’s): $157/square feet
Factory and Industrial (Warehouse): $67/square feet
Multi-Company Incidents: Individual narratives and assigned personnel for all multi-
company incidents are to be completed by each company officer to accurately track
actions taken and appropriate personnel counts for each company.
FireRecords: If FireRecords is not operational, all documentation may be retained,
and such information entered into FireRecords when restored to service. If the
FireRecords system is not restored at the conclusion of the shift, a written narrative
will be completed, along with all documentation, and kept in the fire station in-basket
of the appropriate shift for completion on the member’s next duty day. The battalion
chief should be notified if the member will be off duty the following shift.
Missing or Incomplete Reports: Listings of missing or incomplete reports, which are
the responsibility of the Department members, will be provided to the responsible
captain for follow up.
Reports Generated by Outside Agencies: For incidents within the City when an
outside agency unit is the only response unit, the officer on duty at the station assigned
to those outside units is responsible for the incident report. Information for the report
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 2 of 9
can be obtained from CAD notes and/or contact with the responding company officer
from the outside agency.
The following is a list of FFD Stations that are responsible for outside unit reports:
FFD Station Auto Aid Report Unit Responsibilities
FS06 E42, T41
FS07 E89
FS08 E87, SQ87 & L87
FS10 E44, WT44
FS13 E43
FS15 E82, E84, E86, WT86
FS17 E45, E85
PROCESS
Fire Investigation Activity:
Every reasonable attempt will be made to conduct the following investigation
activities:
1.Determination of point/area of origin
2.Determination of cause
3.Preservation of evidence
4.Identification of involved parties
5.Interview of involved parties
6.Contact of appropriate parties for needed follow-up
7.Documentation of activity
Documentation Responsibility:
The responsibility for documenting the fire origin and cause investigation rests with
the incident commander or his/her designee. Complex origin and cause
investigation of fire scenes may be documented by the investigator in a separate
report upon mutual agreement of the incident commander or his/her designee and
the investigator.
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 3 of 9
Tiburon NFIRS – Fire Reports:
Reports in Tiburon are to be completed thoroughly and professionally. The
following fire origin and cause narrative template is a guide to be used for
completing fire report narratives:
SYNOPSIS
This report documents the suppression and fire cause investigation
of a (residential, commercial, apartment, vehicle, etc.) fire incident.
SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
On DAY, MONTH, DATE, YEAR, at approximately 0000 hours,
Fresno County Dispatch received a 911 emergency call reporting a
residential fire at 0000 E. STREET, FRESNO, CA. in the County of
Fresno. A full residential/commercial fire alarm response responded.
While on duty working as Engine/Truck 3 Captain, I responded code
3, along with my crew, to this incident, and arrived on scene at
approximately XXXX hours.
OBSERVATIONS/ACTIONS
Upon my arrival I observed a (single/two/three story, etc.)
(residential/commercial/apartment) structure with fire and smoke
showing from the (A/B/C/D side) of the structure.
SUMMARY OF SUPPRESSION ACTIVITY
Upon arrival I conducted a walk-around of the incident structure and
observed (briefly describe observations). After completing a walk
around I assigned (detail suppression assignments & activities).
Upon extinguishment of this fire, the structure was secured for fire
origin and cause investigation.
INVESTIGATION
My investigation actions and findings are the result of conducting a
fire origin and cause investigation including scene processing,
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 4 of 9
interviews of identified and available parties and taking field notes
used to compile this report.
The methodology I utilized during this investigation consisted of
identifying all available data for origin determination including
witness accounts, an initial scene assessment, development of a
preliminary fire spread hypothesis, examination of the fire scene,
reconstruction of the fire scene, and identification of the fire’s origin.
I identified all available data for cause determination including
identification of ignition sources and circumstances.
During the course of my investigation I was able to obtain witness
statements. I conducted the interviews in full uniform. The following
is a summary of the statements I collected.
Summary of Statements
Last Name, First Name
Statement narrative….
END OF STATEMENT
After all available statements were obtained, I began to examine the
scene.
Scene Examination
This fire involved a (single/two/three) story
(residential/commercial/apartment) structure.
General Construction:
Building Type: (Type of construction, i.e., Type V Wood framed)
Square Footage: (Approximately 1500 Sq. Ft.) (Zillow.com)
Foundation: (Type of foundation, i.e., Concrete, etc.)
Exterior Siding: (Type of siding, i.e., Wood siding, Stucco, Brick,
etc.)
Roof: (Type of material, i.e., Composite, Ceramic Tile, Wood
Shake, etc.)
I began my investigation by walking through the fire scene, from
exterior to interior identifying all available data relevant to
determining where and how the fire started.
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 5 of 9
I walked through the exterior in a clockwise fashion, noting: visible
exterior damage; condition/security of the doors and windows;
condition of exterior electrical wires; condition of utilities including
gas meter, electrical meter, and electrical panel; and any other
pertinent data pertaining to the fire scene.
I then walked through the interior of the structure. I walked through
each of the rooms and storage spaces, noting: the condition of the
spaces, the contents, housekeeping, indicators of maintenance, and
type of construction, interior finishes and all furnishings/fuel loads. I
searched for fire, smoke, and heat damage to each room and in each
room any indicators of fire travel and/or origin.
EXTERIOR
(Describe general fire damage visible from exterior.)
INTERIOR
(Describe damage, from least burned to most burned.)
Area of Origin
(Smallest Area possible.)
After careful consideration of all information known to me at this time,
it is my opinion this fire originated…
FIRE CAUSE
I examined the area or origin for ignition sources. The only ignition
source(s) that were/was identified were (list of all ignition sources).
After examining each of the ignition sources, it is my opinion, based
upon the scene examination, that the only ignition source which
could have contributed to the ignition of this fire is (identify ignition
source).
1.IGNITION SOURCE: (Heat source item)
2.MATERIAL FIRST IGNITED: (first fuel which came in contact
with heat source)
3.EVENT: (Event that brought the heat source in contact with the
first fuel ignited)
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 6 of 9
CLASSIFICATION OF CAUSE
(Pick one of the below, delete the other three)
ACCIDENTAL: The proven cause does not involve an
intentional human act (2017 NFPA 921 20.1.1)
INCENDIARY: A fire that is deliberately set with the intent to
cause a fire to occur in an area where the fire should not be
(2017 NFPA 921 20.1.3)
NATURAL: Fires caused without direct human intervention or
action (2017 NFPA 921 20.1.2)
UNDETERMINED: The cause cannot be proven to an
acceptable level of certainty (2017 NFPA 921 20.1.4)
FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
I observed a smoke detector in the (list locations). The smoke
detector (was/was not) sounding an alarm at the time of my
examination. There (was/was not) a battery in the detector.
EXPOSURES
1.ACTUAL EXPOSURES: (List exposures effected by the fire)
2.POTENTIAL EXPOSURES: (List potential exposures which
could have been effected by the fire if the fire had not been
extinguished)
NUMBER OF FATALITIES AND/OR INJURIES
(List any/all injuries and/or fatalities, including firefighters, involved in
this incident.)
CONCLUSION
Based upon my scene examination, it is my opinion this fire incident
was caused (Briefly explain the circumstances of the fire cause).
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 7 of 9
DISPOSITION
1.Summary/Status of other actions taken towards the disposition of
the case (list only what applies).
a.Status of victims
b.Status of suspects
c.Notification of related parties
d.Disposition of property
e.Related incidents
f.Disposition of any evidence
g.Other
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL WHO CAN TESTIFY
1.(List of personnel whom assisted in investigation)
END OF INCIDENT REPORT
INFORMATION
This section intentionally left blank.
DEFINITIONS
1.NFIRS: The National Fire Incident Reporting System is a reporting standard
that fire departments use to uniformly report on the full range of their activities,
from fire to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to equipment involved in the
response.
2.Automatic Aid: Automatic aid is defined as the immediate dispatch of a fire unit
from a different jurisdiction than that of the requesting party under pre-
determined terms and conditions, using NFPA 1221 as a guideline.
3.Mutual Aid: Mutual aid is defined as a request of resources from a different
jurisdiction than that of the requesting party based on the needs determined by
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 8 of 9
the managers of the incident and subject to authorization by the responding
party for each request.
CROSS-REFERENCES
National Fire Protection Association 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations
Lee, Wilding, Staff Investigator
Section 201.002
Effective Date: February 2009
Current Revision Date:
Page 9 of 9