• Search & Seizure Issues
  
  • General

Supreme Court Upholds Barring Suspect From Home Pending a Warrant

Tenth Circuit Permits Civil Rights Action for Warrantless Seizure of Property

"Working the Fire Scene: Search and Seizure Issues," Working Paper by Guy E. Burnette, Jr., Esquire.

Legal Considerations: Introduction, Authority to Conduct the Investigation, and Right of Entry, Sections 5-1,5-2.1, and 5-2.2 from NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations 1998 Edition.

Suggested Consent to Search and Seizure form

Federal Constitutional Search and Seizure Issues in Fire Scene Investigations. National Fire & Arson Report. Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1995). p 7-8+.

Cause and Origin: New Legal Doctrines. Fire Chief. Vol. 40. No. 10 (October 1996). p 25-27.

Secure the Right to Enter

• Spoliation

New Jersey Court Reaffirms Spoliation Not A Recognized Tort But Admits Evidence of Destruction

Florida Appeal Court Discusses Sanctions for Spoliation of Evidence

New York Court Upholds Dismissal of Action for Spoliation of Evidence

New Jersey Court Finds No Separate Cause of Action For Negligent Spoliation

New Jersey Court Upholds Spoliation Sanctions for Evidence Mishandling

"Spoliation of Evidence: A Fire Scene Dilemma," 1998 Version, Working Paper by Guy E. Burnette, Jr., Esquire

"Avoiding Evidence Spoliation," Ward & Whitemore. July, 1996.

Watch Out for Civil Tort Liability for Spoliation of Evidence! Fire and Arson Investigator. Vol. 47, No. 4 (June 1997). p 17-19.

A Primer on the Law of Spoliation of Evidence in Canada. Fire and Arson Investigator. Vol. 48, No. 1 (September 1997). p 17-21.

• Fire Scene Safety
  
  • General

Illinois Court Upholds Fireman's Rule

U.S. Firefighter Deaths Reach Ten-Year Peak

NIST Simulator Provides New Picture of LODDs

NIST Fire Dynamics at Cherry Road (PDF Format)

Safety, Section 10-1 through 10-2.7 from NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations 1998 Edition.

"Firefigher Fatalities," NFPA Journal, July/August 1996, p 84-88.

"Safety at the Scene: 'It Can't Happen to Me' Attitude May Be Hazardous to Your Health," Fire Findings. Vol 4, Issue No. 4, Fall, 1996, p 6.

Safety on the Fire Scene. National Fire & Arson Report. Vol. 13. No. 4 (December 1995). p 1-5.

NFPA 704: Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response

NFPA 1470: Search and Rescue for Structural Collapse Incidents

OSHA and the fire investigator. National Fire & Arson Report. Vol 13 No 1 (March 1995). p 1-3+.

The fire is gone, but the hazards linger on. Fire Chief. Vol 41 No 7 (July 1997). p 51-52+.

"Other Investigative Topics: Safety," from Kirk's Fire Investigation, by John D. DeHaan. 1997 Ed. Simon & Schuster, p. 419.

Size-Up the Structure

TR-026 $10 Million Marina Fire, Bohemia Bay, Maryland, January 1989

TR-069 Wood Truss Roof Collapse Claims Two Firefighters, Memphis, Tennessee, December 1992

TR-024 Six Firefighter Fatalities in Construction Site Explosion, Kansas City, Missouri, November 1988

TR-024A Six Firefighter Fatalities in Construction Site Explosion, Kansas City, Missouri, Appendices, November 1988

TR-114 Fire Department Response to Biological Threat at B'nai B'rith, Washington, DC

TR-110 Manufacturing Mill Fire, Methuen, Massachusetts, December 1995

TR-075 Sodium Explosion Critically Burns Firefighters, Newton, Massachusetts, October 1993

TR-069 Wood Truss Roof Collapse Claims Two Firefighters, Memphis, Tennessee, December 1992

TR-021 Fire and Explosions at Rocket Fuel Plant, Henderson, Nevada, May 1988

TR-009 Sherwin-Williams Paint Warehouse Fire, Dayton, Ohio, May 1987

TR-025 Industrial Plastics Fire Major Triage Operation, Flint, Michigan, November 1988

TR-027 Swimming Pool Chemical Plant Fire, Springfield, Massachusetts, June 1988

TR-029 Conservative Approach to Chemical Plant Fire, Ventura County, California, April 1989

TR-032 Gasoline Tanker Incidents in Chicago, Illinois, and Fairfax County, Virginia: Case Studies in Hazardous Materials Planning, March/May 1989

TR-035 Phillips Petroleum Chemical Plant Explosion and Fire, Pasadena, Texas, October 1989

TR-052 Massive Leak of Liquefied Chlorine Gas, Henderson, Nevada, May 1991

TR-053 Major Propane Gas Explosion and Fire, Perryville, Maryland, July 1991

TR-061 Four Firefighters Killed, Trapped by Floor Collapse, Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, December 1991

TR-073 Floor Collapse Claims Two Firefighters, Pittston, Pennsylvania, March 1993

TR-003 Detroit Warehouse Fire Claims Three Firefighters, March 1987

TR-077 Four Firefighters Die in Seattle Warehouse Fire, Seattle, Washington, January 1995

TR-004 Schomberg Plaza Fire, New York City (Harlem), March 1987

TR-022 Interstate Bank Building Fire, Los Angeles, California, May 1988

TR-101 Broward Marine Fire, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 

• Carbon Monoxide

Consumer Product Safety Commission Recommends Carbon Monoxide Alarm for Every Home

Carbon Monoxide Risks at Home (PDF Format)

Oreland Fire Protection District Carbon Monoxide Detector Activation Checklist, May 25, 1994

"Carbon Monoxide: The Silent Killer," Security News. December, 1994. p. 2+

"Fire Related Deaths and Injuries, CO2," from Kirk's Fire Investigation, by John D. DeHaan. 1997 Ed. Simon & Schuster.Chapter 15 .

Residential Carbon Monoxide Detectors, NIST

• Walk-through with First Respondents
  
  • General

Arson Investigations: Burglar Alarm Systems

A Field Guide to Incident Analysis

Legal Considerations: Introduction, Authority to Conduct the Investigation, and Right of Entry, Sections 5-1, 5-2 .1, and 5-2.2 from NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations 1998 Edition.

Questions for Firefighters, List of 33 Questions.

Walkthrough with First Respondents

Get Basic Incident Information