FIRE INVESTIGATION : DETERMINING WHERE THE FIRE STARTED
The importance of not jumping to conclusions is perhaps the biggest challenge facing wildfire investigators. Following internationally recognised procedures in determining where the fire started is of paramount importance, as providing reliable and acceptable testimony in a court of law might be required at a later stage. There are a number of factors that assist the investigator in determining the approximate area where the fire started, referred to as the general point of origin.
These include :
a) Eye witness accounts from the person who reported the fire.
b) Shape of the fire: Wildfires generally burn in a “U” or “V”-shaped pattern, the base of the letter being where the fire started.
c) Slope: Fires generally burn quicker up slope
d) Wind: Fires generally burn with the wind
e) Burn indicators: As the fire moves and makes contact with objects (bottles, tins, rocks) or consumes material (plants, fence posts, trees, etc.), it leaves distinct tell-tale signs indicating both in which direction the fire was moving, and how intense the fire was. Based on these indicators, one is able to trace the fire back to its source, usually to an area about 2 x 2 metres.
This area is then carefully protected to allow the cause of the fire to be determined.
