Minnesota Dept of Public Safety, State Fire Marshal Division.
Revenue reductions in the State Fire Marshal Division have caused
some operational changes in all areas of the division, including fire
investigations. In order to develop
divisional priorities based on necessary budget changes, statutory authority and
mandates to provide services were reviewed. MS 299F.04 assigns the responsibility for fire investigations
to the Fire Chief, while allowing the State Fire Marshal to coordinate the
investigation upon deeming it necessary.
Based on a current staff of 10 compared to 14 in 1998, and on our
interpretation of statute which does not clearly mandate us to perform certain
investigations, the following bullet points describe our current direction:
·
We are continuing to
conduct fire investigations; however, requests for service are being triaged by
the investigators. The highest
priority for service are those fires or explosions with fatal or serious
injuries, those that are known to be or suspected to be arson, and those with
very large property losses.
·
Investigators are
limiting the scope of their investigation to “cause and origin” only
according to NFPA 921. Investigators
do not conduct law enforcement functions, so cooperative relationships with
local law enforcement officials are critical when presenting arson findings.
Fire and law enforcement “team” investigations may be conducted with
the approval of the Chief Investigator.
·
The investigator
may provide advice over the phone on how local personnel should proceed with the
investigation on lower priority incidents, or provide feedback on what local
personnel have already done in their investigation.
·
Local fire
officials are encouraged to continue to report unusual types or numbers of fires
to the division even though it may not be a high priority incident; division
investigators cover a large territory and can discover recurring causes or
origins that aren’t as evident within a local area only.
·
County or region
wide fire investigation teams are encouraged to handle the lower priority
incidents, and to work with Division investigators on higher priority types.
Division investigators will support these teams with training and advice,
and will act as a liaison from the team to the division.
·
Local teams already
in existence are encouraged to promote this concept and support neighboring fire
officials in developing additional teams. Operating
guidelines for a tiered level of response are available from the division.
·
In order to support
the development of local teams, the Basic Fire Investigation course will be
provided through SFM Division and BCA on an accelerated schedule.
·
Fire Investigators
are currently assisting division fire inspectors with some mandated fire code
inspections, but fire investigations remain their priority.