Fire and Arson Assignment

FIRE AND ARSON
ASSIGNMENT (FSIC325)
ON
ROLE OF FIRST RESPONDERS AT A
CRIME SCENE
Submitted by: Preeti Thakur
Enrollment No. : A5905918230
Course: B.Sc (H) F.S
Batch: 2018-2021
Submitted to: Dr. Himanshu Khajuria
The Role of First Responders at Crime Scene

First responders are people who reach the crime scene before anyone else. There are certain roles
of first responders. The actions of public safety personnel providing emergency services at a fire
scene are critical not only to lifesaving and fire suppression efforts but also to any subsequent
investigation of the incident.
A. Observe the Fire and Scene Conditions:
Public safety personnel responding to a fire should observe conditions and activities at or near
the scene so they can give investigators arriving later an accurate and complete description. First
responders can gain information valuable to the fire investigation during their approach to and
arrival at the scene.
While approaching a fire scene, first responders should observe and mentally note the following
conditions and activities and, as soon as conditions permit, initiate permanent documentation of
the information (e.g., written notes, voice recordings, videotapes):
1) The presence, location, and condition of victims and witnesses.

2) Vehicles leaving the scene, bystanders, or unusual activities near the scene.
3) Flame and smoke conditions (e.g., the volume of flames and smoke; the color, height,
and location of the flames; the direction in which the flames and smoke are moving).
4) The type of occupancy and use of the structure (e.g., a residential occupancy being used
as a business).
5) Conditions of the structure (e.g., lights turned on; fire through the roof; walls standing;
open, closed, or broken windows and doors).
6) Conditions surrounding the scene (e.g., blocked driveways, debris, damage to other
structures).
7) Weather conditions.
8) Unusual characteristics of the scene (e.g., the presence of containers, exterior burning or
charring on the building, the absence of normal contents, unusual odors, fire trailers).
9) The fire suppression techniques used, including ventilation, forcible entry, and utility
shutoff measures.
10) The status of fire alarms, security alarms, and sprinklers.
First responders’ initial observations provide investigators with information pertinent to the
investigation. As the investigation unfolds, these observations may provide the starting point for
evidence collection and preservation efforts.
B. Exercise Scene Safety

Safety overrides all other concerns: Ensuring the safety of victims, bystanders, and public safety
personnel is the first responders’ foremost concern at a fire scene. First responders must take
steps to identify and remove or mitigate safety hazards that may further threaten victims,
bystanders, and public safety personnel. They must exercise due caution to avoid injuries to
themselves and others.
Upon arrival at the scene, first responders should:
A. Evaluate the scene for safety hazards (e.g., structural collapse of the building; smoke;
electrical, chemical, or biological hazards; other health risks).
B. Establish safety/hazard zones.
C. Communicate hazards to other personnel arriving at the scene.
D. Use tools and personal protective equipment appropriate to the task during all operations.
The first responders should be beware of incendiary or explosive devices. The scene may contain
devices specifically designed to kill or maim public safety responders. Do not touch any
suspected incendiary or explosive device. Evacuate the area, and request the services of
personnel trained in the removal of such items.
Safety is the overriding concern during emergency operations and the subsequent investigation.
To ensure the safety of civilians and public safety personnel, first responders should take steps to
identify, evaluate, and mitigate scene hazards, and they should communicate those hazards to
other public safety personnel arriving at the scene. Necessary safety zones should be established
to receive victims as they are evacuated. Personal protective equipment and other measures
should be used to ensure the safety of all persons at the scene. The scene should continually be
reassessed to evaluate safety hazards that may change due to fire conditions or suppression
efforts.
C. Preserve the Fire Scene:
Evidence at a fire scene takes many different forms, some of which are transient (i.e., they are
not permanent and may disappear quickly, such as impressions in snow or evaporating liquids).
First responders must understand how rescue, medical, fire suppression, overhaul and salvage
efforts can adversely affect different forms of evidence and take steps to preserve evidence
accordingly. First responders should assess the fire scene to identify potential evidence, take
preliminary steps to preserve it, and notify appropriate authorities about its existence.
To preserve evidence, first responders should:
A. Observe and mentally note evidence that may be present at the scene, such as:
 Fire patterns (including multiple fire locations).

 Burn injuries to victims and fire patterns on clothing.
 Trailers, ignitable liquids, or other unusual fuel distribution (e.g., piles of newspapers,
furniture pushed together).
 Incendiary/ignition/explosive devices (e.g., lighters, matches, timing devices).
 Shoe prints and tire impressions.
 Broken windows and doors.
 Distribution of broken glass and debris.
 Indications of forced entry (tools and tool marks).
 Containers.
 Discarded clothing.
 Trace evidence (e.g., hairs, fibers, fingerprints, blood, other body fluids).
 Evidence of crimes in addition to the possible arson (e.g., weapons, bodies, drugs,
clandestine drug laboratory equipment).
 Witnesses, bystanders, and victims.
 Any other unusual items or the absence of normal contents or structural components.
D. Recognize threats to evidence (i.e., its movement, removal, contamination, or

destruction) from any of the following sources:
 Fire suppression activities, such as a straight stream applied at the point of origin or
deluge applications that may wash away or dilute potential evidence.
 Overhaul activities that destroy fire patterns.
 Salvage activities that involve moving or removing potential physical evidence.
 Use of a tool in any manner that causes destruction of evidence.
 Movement of knobs, switches, and controls on appliances and utilities.
 Weather conditions that affect transient evidence (i.e., wind, precipitation, or temperature
changes).
 Personnel walking through the scene.
 Witnesses and victims leaving the scene.
 Medical intervention and treatment of victims (e.g., by damaging evidence at the scene or
destroying victims’ clothing).
 Premature removal or movement of bodies.
 Vehicles at the scene (e.g., that introduce fluid to the scene through vehicle leaks or
destroy other evidence, including shoe prints and tire impressions).
 Contamination from external sources, such as fuel-powered tools or equipment.
Protect evidence by:
 Limiting excessive fire suppression, overhaul, and salvage.

 Avoiding needless destruction of property.
 Leaving bodies undisturbed.
 Flagging items of evidence with cones or markers.
 Recording observations through written notes or voice recordings.
 Covering items or areas containing evidence with objects that will not
contaminate the evidence (e.g., clean boxes or tarpaulins).
 Isolating items or areas containing evidence with rope, barrier tape, barricades, or
sentries.
 Retaining and securing clothing items removed from victims and suspects.
 Obtaining information about victims and witnesses (i.e., their names, addresses,
and telephone numbers).
 Preserving transient evidence (e.g., trace evidence, shoe prints, tire impressions).
 Removing evidence at risk of imminent destruction by the fire or the structural
collapse of the damaged building.
 Ensuring that later arriving investigators are fully apprised of the evidence
discovered.
First responders should recognize items that may have evidentiary value in a subsequent
investigation and take steps to protect them from damage that could result from the fire, fire
suppression, or rescue efforts.
E. Establish Security and Control:
Fire suppression and rescue efforts can be performed more efficiently and effectively if only
essential authorized personnel are permitted access to the area. Restricting access also ensures
the safety of civilians and helps to preserve the scene for subsequent investigation. First
responders should immediately establish control of the scene. Then, as soon as conditions permit,
first responders should initiate documentation of the scene to aid in the investigation.
 To establish security and control, first responders should:

 Set up a security perimeter (e.g., using barrier tape, fire line, sentry).
 Control access into the scene through the security perimeter.
 Initiate documentation of the scene. (See “Section C: Documenting the Scene.”)
The actions of first responders at a fire scene are not only critical to saving lives and suppressing
fires; they also set the stage for the investigators arriving to process the scene by establishing a
controlled security perimeter and initiating documentation of the scene.
F. Coordinate Activities:
Emergency operations at the fire scene may involve many different agencies and organizations,
each having a different focus and performing different activities. These activities must be well
coordinated to accomplish emergency operations efficiently and to preserve the integrity of the
scene. Upon arrival at the scene, first20 responders must establish an incident command system,
which allows for a systematic flow and transfer of critical scene information.
To coordinate activities at the scene, first responders should:
 Establish a command post and implement an incident command system (i.e., a point of
contact and line of communication and authority for public safety personnel).
 Establish staging areas to ensure that emergency and support vehicles have access into
the area. Request additional personnel resources, such as firefighters, EMS personnel,
law enforcement officers, investigators, and representatives of utility companies.
 Inform authorities about the status of the incident, hazards, injuries, witnesses, the
location of evidence, and other pertinent facts.
First responders must establish an incident command system to coordinate activities at the scene
and communicate information to responsible authorities.

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FIRE AND ARSON

Submitted by: Preeti Thakur

Enrollment No. : A5905918230

Course: B.Sc (H) F.S

Submitted to: Dr. Himanshu Khajuria

The Role of First Responders at Crime Scene

A. Observe the Fire and Scene Conditions:

1) The presence, location, and condition of victims and witnesses.

B. Exercise Scene Safety

Upon arrival at the scene, first responders should:

C. Preserve the Fire Scene:

To preserve evidence, first responders should:

 Fire patterns (including multiple fire locations).

D. Recognize threats to evidence (i.e., its movement, removal, contamination, or

Protect evidence by:

 Limiting excessive fire suppression, overhaul, and salvage.

E. Establish Security and Control:

 To establish security and control, first responders should:

To coordinate activities at the scene, first responders should:

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