Public - Private Fire Investigation Interface Training

Jeremiah Pratt has a unique view of the lifecycle of a property fire - from initial firefighting response to the public investigation team interacting with the local fire departments and MA State Police, through to the insurance subrogation and subsequent court trial process. With over 25 years of fire fighting experience, he is a member and the Training Coordinator for the Massachusetts District 7 Fire Investigation Unit, the Managing Partner and Fire and Engineering Analyst for Genesis Forensics. He has identified opportunities throughout the lifecycle for the different stakeholders to better understand the needs and activities of other parties. This sparked a unique training event that took place recently with members of Central and Metrowest Massachusetts public Fire Investigators.

The training itself is happening in four parts: 1) Pre-burning of the Investigation Training Cell, 2) Scene Investigation, 3) Laboratory Investigation, and 4) Investigation Report.

The "Investigation Cell" was built as a mock-kitchen, complete with cabinets, a sink, and multiple appliances. The fire cause was pre-determined and created to happen under the supervision of the Training Coordinator and the Mendon (Massachusetts) Fire Department. None of the investigation training attendees were present during the build or the burn.

For health and safety, the majority of materials used in the cell were made of wood or metal and the burn took place 6 days prior to the investigation training to allow the by-products of combustion to settle and dissipate prior to training.

At the conclusion of the fire, the cell was allowed to cool with a fire watch present. Once completely cooled and deemed safe, it was boarded up and secured to prevent unwanted access prior to the training date.

For the purpose of assisting public fire investigators to understand further private insurance-related investigation, the attendees were divided into teams representing various interested parties, such as the building insurance and the various appliance manufacturers. This was followed by a briefing, protocol, and scene investigation that is typical in an insurance-style joint scene investigation. Attendees were required to follow NFPA 921 and follow the steps required to fully form all possible hypotheses regarding fire origin as if they were hired by an insurance company. The scene was grided and sifted, evidence was collected and logged in a chain of custody for preservation until the future Laboratory Examination portion of the training.This gave a realistic first-hand experience in the process of the lifecycle of a subrogation-style case.

By offering this training to our local public fire investigation teams, Genesis Forensics aims to build trust and cooperation between the public and private sectors. Understanding the job responsibilities and efforts for the entire fire-inspection-subrogation lifecycle is beneficial for all parties involved.