FIA2

Lt. Chris Harding, Chesterfield County Fire Marshals Office

Assistant Fire Marshal (with Police Powers) / Paramedic

Fire Investigator Questions

1. ***Request a summary of qualifications from the person being interviewed**

a. See Attached Resume

2. How long have has he or she been working as a fire investigator?

a. I started working as a fire investigator in August of 2017. Prior to that, I was a company officer serving on multiple engine and truck companies. Part of my responsibilities was to determine basic fire origin and cause.

3. What type of training does he or she have in the fire investigation field?

a. I have attended multiple classes in regard to fire investigations. I completed 4 weeks of 1033 NFPA Fire Investigator (instructed by the Virginia Fire Marshal Academy). I completed a one week Post Blast Investigation course in Huntsville Alabama with ATF. I have also completed multiple CFI-Trainer.net courses and sat and tested and passed my IAAI-FIT (Fire Investigation Technician).

4. What are some of the biggest challenges he or she has when investigating the cause and origin of fires?

a. Some of the biggest challenges I encounter when investigating origin and cause of fires is excessive damage completed by operational crews. Prior to my arrival, they tend to remove furniture and damage sheetrock and other items in the essence of ‘overhaul’, destroying fire patterns and altering potential competent ignition sources in the process. Another challenge is determining exact cause. In Virginia, there is case law (Commonwealth vs Virginia) that states all fires in Virginia are accidental until proven otherwise. My first priority is to determine if the incident was criminal or not. Then if it isn’t, I have to work towards figuring out an exact cause without damaging the scene for the insurance investigator.

5. What safety precautions does he or she use when investigating a fire?

a. Our day uniform/duty uniform consistent of black shirts and tan pants (the ‘standard’ in fire investigations in the Metro Richmond area), county issued duty weapon, handcuffs, radio for communication, handcuffs, flashlight and OC spray. We are sworn law enforcement officers so we have to take the appropriate officer safety precautions when on scene. We also always dig our scenes with a minimum of two personnel. The reason for this, we once had a fire investigator that fell through a second story deck and straddled a joist breaking his arm. His radio fell down below and didn’t have a way of communicating for help. Luckily there was a second investigator there and that is our safety protocol. When actively digging a hot scene, we wear protective gear (SCBA, structural turnout gear, medical gloves under disposable leather work gloves), flashlights, hand tools, camera and other equipment. We also have an option once the scene is considered ‘cold’ to use APR with eye protection. We have a procedure in place that is written down for our PPE.

6. Which fire suppression activities have the most impact on his or her investigation?

a. The most impactful suppression activity that occurs and can alter my investigation is the excessive overhaul that gets completed. I feel this is due to lack of experience, overzealous firefighters wanting to overhaul just to overhaul, and lack of education of fire chemistry and behavior. Ripping all the sheetrock off the walls in a room of origin will delay the process to determine the exact area and cause.

7. Has he or she found strategies for mitigating this?

a. A strategy we found to this was by educating the operational personnel with teaching in their recruit school, teaching officer academies and on site (incident scene) education. I typically like to teach the operational crews that are on scene and point out fire patterns and the reason why they need to/not need to move items. We are slowly working to correct these items and have been successful. We also self dispatch on any working fire which allows us to gain access and recon the room of origin and direct the crews with what to leave in play. This has been a huge improvement and has sped up the times of investigations and clearing crews faster.

8. Has he or she testified as an expert in a courtroom?

a. I have not testified as an expert witness in a courtroom. I have set up and scheduled the IAAI-Expert Witness and Courtroom Testimony class in Chesterfield County February 2022. This course is needed for me to test and sit for my CFI test. Our commonwealth attorney is working towards swearing in our entire office within the circuit court as expert witnesses.