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Easy Guide to The Arson Investigation Process

Easy Guide to The Arson Investigation Process

 

Arson Defined
Arson is acriminal or civil act that is recognized by the act of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to a structure or wooded area.

 

 

 

Arson is held separately from other actions that may precipitate a fire, such as natural wildfires or spontaneous combustion. The difference in classification stems from the attached malicious behavior. For an individual to be charged with arson, the perpetrator’s actions must be deliberate and delivered with the intent to inflict damage, harm, or collect insurance compensation.
 

 

 

The key elements attached to arson charge will investigate whether the action was malicious in nature; meaning was the fire started to fraudulently collect an insurance claim or precipitate damage to an area.

Investigation Process

An arson investigation is conducted to evaluate the malicious intent of the alleged individual. As a result of this goal and the science behind starting fires, the arson investigation process is complex and requires the expertise of scientists and firemen alike.
 

The arson investigation process starts with devastation. In order to conduct an arson investigation process, the individual investigating the crime scene must understand the science of fires, meaning how they start, how they progress and what indicators remain to help reconstruct what occurred.
 
Once the fire is extinguished, the investigation unit will evaluate all remaining evidence to attempt to conclude how the fire started. Typically the units will collect evidence and reconstruct the scene to help elucidate on what started the fire and if there was any direct human involvement at the onset. When the scene is thoroughly investigated by law enforcement agencies, it is turned over to insurance company investigations, engineers, and private investigators who possess a legal right to examine the crime scene for their insured clients.

Know What An Arson Investigator Is

Know What An Arson Investigator Is

What is Arson?
 
 
Arson is a criminal act which is defined as the malicious starting of a fire, with the intent to either precipitate damage or harm to a dwelling or to fraudulently collect insurance compensation. The key components of an arson investigation will evaluate how the fire started and whether or not there was malicious intent involved in the action.
 
 
Arson is held in contrast from other actions that may precipitate a fire, such as natural wildfires or spontaneous combustion. The difference in classification stems from the attached malicious behavior. For an individual to be charged with arson, the perpetrator’s actions must be deliberate and delivered with the intent to inflict damage, harm, or collect insurance compensation. 
 
 
Arson Investigators
 
 
The arson investigation process, because of the attempt to prove malicious intent and the scientific aspect revolving around starting a fire, is complicated. When a fire is extinguished by a locality’s police department, the investigation process begins with police investigators and scientists or engineers hired by the underlying law enforcement agency. These arson investigators will evaluate the crime scene, collect evidence, and reconstruct the actions which precluded the fire to conclude whether the fire was started with malicious intent.
 
 
When all pertinent evidence is acquired, the arson investigators aligned with the local law enforcement agencies will give way to the underlying insurance company. The insurance arson investigators will employ engineers and scientists to evaluate the crime scene and investigate whether the fire was started as a means of fraudulently collecting insurance compensation.