FIRE INVESTIGATION ORIGIN DETERMINATION SURVEY

摘要

The fire investigation industry is considered to be lagging behind the rest of the forensic science fields in itsrnassessment of the performance of methodological approaches and conclusions drawn by practitioners within thernfield. Despite the best efforts of certifying bodies and industry members, there are still many unknowns within thernprofession. As such, the researchers have collected a large survey of demographics to formulate a picture of ourrnindustry with regards to experience, age, employment, training, and opinions regarding methodology within thernindustry. In addition to these demographics, the researchers collected data regarding area of origin determinationrnboth with and without measurable data (depth of char, calcination) to evaluate its effectiveness when applied withoutrnan on-site scene examination. This permitted the comparison of the demographics and accuracy in determining thernmost important hypothesis in fire investigations, the area of origin. It is shown that 73.8% of the participantsrnwithout measurable data and 77.7% with measurable data accurately determined the area of origin. Thus, the totalrnpercentage of participants choosing the correct area increased 3.9% with the inclusion of measurable data as part ofrnthe given. Additional selected outcomes from this research are presented within this paper.