A Look Back at Thirty Years of Fire Investigation

By Michael Lane, Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator, MA

In the investigation of a fire, chemistry and physics are a consideration,
but the hand of God prevails

Live Burn Study in Arizona

Staff members of Corporate Investigative Services and invited guests of the company joined with fire investigators from around the country to participate in a live burn exercise that was coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, ATF, and the F.B.I. in an effort to study fire modeling and some aspects of burn patterns. The Arizona Chapter of IAAI hosted the event securing a HUD apartment house to burn.

Tom Williams, A new England State Trooper, pauses in front of a burning building during the live training exercise.

Mark Aswad of our Auburn, New York office was present in his capacity as both a fire investigator and a member of the Cayuga County (New York) Sheriffs Fire Investigation unit. Tom Williams, a New England State Trooper, and an experienced fire investigator, came to the seminar to join several people in the program under an ongoing funded program to advance fire investigations for law enforcement. Last year C.I.S. funded the seed money for the Juvenile Fire Setter program in Dutchess County, New York to train investigators.

Continued on Page 2

Michael Lane is a thirty year veteran of the fire service. Over the thirty years he has testified in cases in federal and State Courts around the country. He pioneered many of the accepted data on burn patterns. He has authored numerous articles and lectured extensively.

Nearly thirty years ago CORPORATE INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES, LTD. was started as both a major player in bank security systems in New York City and as a company specializing in Fire and Explosion Investigation. Over the years there have been some strange and bizarre cases. Two that I will never forget are noted below.

Perhaps the most bizarre case was an arson case that involved an accused prominent Medical Doctor from Suburban, New York, and a mansion that held an altar for religious services in what became in 1970 a burned hulk. The Doctor was surrounded by intrigue. His first wife was murdered in Manhattan in a bizarre attack on her in front of their children. His second wife was missing and was presumed to be buried under the concrete in the suburban home.

The Doctor was arrested and charged with the Arson of his home. He arrived in Court on a stretcher with numerous tubes inserted and through his attorney announced his impending death. The judge ordered the "near" death doctor released in "the interest of Justice". Days later a miraculous cure saw the now healed Doctor able to announce a twenty million-dollar lawsuit against anyone he could find. In the end a Federal Judge and Jury found for the Aetna Insurance and the other entities. Fred Mindlin of Mound, Cotton and Wollin represented this office.

The case ended but the memory lingers on and now some nearly thirty years after the events unfolded I often find myself drawn back to the street where it all happened.

There was also a case that I called AUNT EMMA. Emma was found burned to death on her bed in her home. Her caretaker found her one January morning. The horrified caretaker found the body and ran hysterically down the street incoherently seeking help. I arrived at the scene early on the morning of the grisly find.

What was found was elderly Aunt Emma burned to death on her bed. The problem was that the bed fell to the basement cutting a perfect square in the wooden floor. Inexplicable was how the fire did the damage it did to the floor and bed and did not burn any adjoining combustibles. The fire seemingly was localized to the bed and Aunt Emma with no collateral damage. There was a slight smell of smoke in the building, but none of the expected by products of fire.

The case remains inexplicable. It also is a reminder that the rules of Chemistry and physics prevail in the investigation of a fire but the hand of the unknown can be a companion.

Live Burn Study (continued)

Left to right: Mark Aswad of our Auburn, NY office and a Cayuga County Sheriffs Fire Investigator, Dan Madrzykowski, leader of large fire research at Nist, and Tom Williams,
a New England State Trooper, pause for a brief meeting following a presentation by NIST.

"Freddy The Fireman" all dressed to do his research on behalf of the fire service

The program provided a glimpse into the future of fire investigations using the latest computer modeling programs, thermal imaging cameras, and fire simulation programs to better understand burn patterns and thermal radiation. An apartment house was used to burn various objects in units that were outfitted with thermal couplers and thermal image cameras to study the fires using gasoline and other starters.

F.B.I. lab personnel from Washington, D.C. were

on hand to secure lab samples and discuss their findings.

"Freddy the Fireman" was at the scene courtesy of NIST. He is a "smart dummy" who is fully instrumented to provide information to engineers to create a safer set of fire fighting gear and more effective "pass" alarms for firefighters. His job is to stay in the fire and register temperatures on both his front and back so that assessments of his safety can be made. It was a job made for a dummy.

The program presented cutting edge information on fire safety and fire investigations. The ATF is hoping to use the information from this unique program to create a training film. Discovery Channel was also present to film and present the public with the information currently available.

For CORPORATE INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES it was an opportunity to give better technical information to our clients in an effort to insure that justice is done.

LPG Containers & Some Basic Facts for the Investigator

We are often called to the site of a propane gas incident on behalf of clients. Sometimes the damage is collateral to the incident and at other times it could be a major factor in the incident.

Steps should be taken by the first responding investigator to insure that the matter can be investigated. Do not begin ripping pipes from where they are found. Generally the fire investigator is not a metallurgist or a gas expert. Document your findings. Know your limitations. Below you will find some basic discussion regarding propane. We recommend that you read the National Gas Codes as a basic primer to fire and explosion investigations. NFPA 54 and 58 should be consulted.

Many systems you will come upon in the field have a first stage regulator

Noted at left is the Wc capacity and the date of manufacture of the vessel. Look for it during your investigation.

Propane containers also contain pressure relief devices. They operate when the vessel becomes over pressured due to fire or heat build up. Essentially they are relief valves. They generally operate between 250 psig and 375 psig. Firefighters will often describe to the investigator a ball of fire coming from a structure indicating to them that the LPG caused the fire. More to the point is that the LPG may be the victim of the events and the relief valve is actually preventing a BLEVE.

Portable cylinders are also marked with the maximum amount of water in a cylinder. Water capacity of cylinders range from 2.2 lbs to 95 lbs. The

and a second stage regulator installed. Smaller systems appear as having only a single stage regulator.

Court Decision in New York

Continues a Trend that Began in California and has Now Involved Pennsylvania

A recent decision regarding a specific case in Delaware County, New York with regard to preservation of evidence clearly underscores the need to PRESERVE ALL evidence in a fire case. The case involved an alleged furnace failure that caused a major fire loss of a building in March 1992 in Delaware County, New York. Five months after the building had been unceremoniously relegated to a dump, the alleged offending oil service company was notified of a law suit. CORPORATE INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES PERSONNEL were asked to review the file and the allegations on behalf of our client.

The only piece of evidence that was retained from the investigation by the New Jersey-New York based investigation company for review by other experts was a single furnace nozzle which they declared the culprit.

Attorney George Roesch of Mac Vean, Lewis, Sherwin and McDermott of Middletown, New York received the case to review on behalf of the oil service company. The first obvious question that the defense team had to answer was if the oil delivery company actually had caused the fire. A team of experts was assembled to review the matter. Since all of the evidence cited by the homeowners insurance carrier and experts had been destroyed there was nothing to look at. The investigators for the plaintiffs assured all concerned that they had reviewed all other causes of the fire and

had eliminated them as potential causes of the fire with the exception of the nozzle on the furnace. Interestingly this building had been a large three story residential building that had been reduced to about two feet of ash following the fire.

Supreme Court Justice Runsey cited a recent Third Department decision (Puccia V. Farley (Dec. 9, 1999) in making his decision. Spoliation sanctions including preclusion or even dismissal may constitute an appropriate remedy {for the negligent destruction of evidence deemed crucial to the underlying activity when the adversary has not been given an opportunity for inspection". The court noted that sanctions could be necessary as a "matter of elementary fairness" (see Kirkland v New York City Hous. Auth). The matter depended on the degree that the lack of available evidence impinged upon in the matter.

There was never a question about whether the evidence had been deliberately destroyed. The issue was simply that the evidence was destroyed and thus was no longer available for review. More frustrating was the fact that the evidence was important enough for the New Jersey­New York based Engineering company to examine, photograph, and use as exhibits to prove points. Then the evidence was discarded. It would be akin to a prosecutor in a criminal case saying that the fingerprints were of the suspect ­ trust me.

The judge ruled that elementary fairness demands that the plaintiffs be precluded from introducing any testimony or other evidence about the furnace. The matter was not dismissed but the guidelines for what can be introduced are clear.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, we continue to warn investigators and insurance adjusters that there is a new era in fire investigations. Spending a few minutes at a scene and leaving behind all but your photographs is not going to fly in a court of law. For the defendant it is elementary fairness regardless of the matter at hand.

No longer can an investigator arrive on the scene and spend a ceremonial few minutes at a location and depart with a few small items of convenience. Investigation services must be prepared to remove both items that potentially caused the loss and those that have been eliminated. They all must be stored in a safe and secure area. In addition, as in the above case it would be wise to notify all parties that potentially could be involved in a legal matter before the items are destroyed and disturbed.

For everyone involved it means that the "quick look" of yesterday is gone. A fire investigation can be a potentially expensive matter with results that will not be known until after the matter is fully investigated. For out part we urge fire investigators to work closely with assigned counsel starting in the early stages of a fire investigation.

LPG Containers (continued)

It is an actual emergency. Customers calling their local supplier should be advised to evacuate the building immediately. In one case that comes to mind, the supplier mistakenly told the customer to set up fans to dissipate the smell in the house. The sump pump proved to be the undoing of the dwelling with catastrophic results.

In gas emergency, the local gas supplier is usually available to assist in reviewing the scene on a preliminary basis. Technicians are trained and understand gas procedures.

After a gas incident and preliminary investigation, the tank should be removed and a determination of the amount of product remaining should be made. The tank and regulator should be preserved at a safe location after an incident. We urge you not to rip and tear the pipes and feed lines apart. There is nothing worse than finding a well meaning fire investigator in the possession of several hundred feet of tubing that has been torn from a scene.

.93 pound cylinder is the non refillable vessel we find on small burners.

All refillable tanks must be tested every twelve years.

The investigator should be aware of the fact that an overfilled tank can cause problems. A tank that has been recently filled and then left in the sun or heated in some way can result in the escape of vapors. The vapors are flammable when exposed to an open flame or spark. First response teams should treat the smell of gas as an actual emergency.

Video Examinations of Chimney Systems ­ A New Service

We are proud to introduce Frank Pusatare. He is the newest member of our team and brings a unique service to our clients. He is a seasoned fire investigator and also is well acquainted with chimney failures and woodburning fireplaces and its relationship to NFPA 211. He will be operating our video system when inspections of a chimney are required to bring an additional tool to our clients in making determinations related to chimney and flu problems.

Frank Pusatare holds a B.A. Degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He also holds an Associates Degree in Industrial technology. He is a Certified New York State Building Inspector as well as a seasoned fire investigator having served on the Fire Investigation Team for Westchester County, New York for several years. In his capacity as a Fire Investigator he has worked in most of the major law enforcement agencies in the metropolitan New York area.

Mr. Pusatare brings a new dimension to Corporate Investigative Services with his extensive background in chimney failures and construction of various alternate heating devices. He is certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. He has a working knowledge of the various codes including the NFPA and BOCA Codes related to chimneys and their installation and construction.

In addition, he will maintain a closed circuit TRV system to inspect various chimneys when required by our clients.

A small trail of fuel from the vehicle was noted by one of our staff members. It could not attribute to firefighting activity. In the end, the trail led to a vehicle that had a major defect and a recall from the car manufacturer.

At press time we were advised that State Farm received, $500,000 back in a subrogation settlement in a Westchester County, New York court.

Guilty Plea ­ Liberty Mutual Case: Insurance fraud related to arson in the Albany, NY area. More information in our next newletter.

Cases Settled

A 1994 fire that destroyed a house in Upstate New York ended in a settlement with a major car manufacturer and the payment to Travelers insurance of over 300,000 dollars. The case arose from a vehicle that was driven into the attached garage of a residence. Several minutes later the occupants noted the garage and car on fire. Moments later much of the house was being consumed.