Canadian Criminal Evidence/Model Examinations/Fire Experts

Fire Chief or Fire Marshall[edit | edit source]

The fire chief or fire marshall is a member of a fire department who is trained in analysing fires and their causes.

employed with a regional fire department / position of fire chief or similar
duration of employment
education and training relevant to analysing fires / degree, certificates, or licences received
type of work that he or she does relevant to analysing fires
past experience as an expert witness / whether he or she was qualified in the past

on <date>, the expert attended the scene of a fire at <location>;
time of arrival
state of scene and structure when arriving / whether any observable signs of ongoing fire
method that the fire was extinguished
whether photographs were taken / diagrams made / enter as exhibit and review with witness
time of entering / inspecting the scene (may have had to wait for safety reasons)
extent of examination / areas examined
notable observations:
- possible site of origin of fire
- observable burn patterns on inside (e.g. floor, wall, or ceiling) or outside (e.g. walls, roof, neighbouring structures)
discovered any items relevant to fire (accelerants, etc.) / seized by police

Ask for an opinion with reasons for each of the following points:

location of fire's origin (inside vs outside, region of origin) / anything notable about region
cause of fire
source of fire's oxygen (usually source from outside)
whether accelerants were involved / notable signs of "spalling" (strong concentrations of burning)
speed of fire's progression / manner in which it would have progressed / where fire went
how the fire started / what was ignition
likelihood of source being electrical malfunctioning
likelihood of caused by accident or negligence such as discarded cigarettes or stove left on
likelihood of purely natural causes (lightening)
likelihood of a person would have started it intentionally