Such determination is the goal of any arson investigation.

The advantages of accurate and thorough fire investigations should be obvious. All fifty states statutorily allow public investigations of all fires in an effort to determine their origins and causes. This process, however, is not without complications and, too often, the cause and origin are left as unresolved and identified as undetermined causes.

Some fires are the result of complex events whose origins and cause are not immediately obvious. The investigation may require the gathering of extensive data so that the investigator is not guessing at the cause or is basing his decision on the circumstances surrounding the event. This procedure may take considerable time and may never render any definable evidence as to the cause and origin. This is the essence of arson investigation.

Fire investigation is also complicated by the fact that the destructive power of the fire often...
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