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Certified Fire Investigator Program

Historically, arson investigators have relied on a variety of indicators to determine how and where a fire started. The physical evidence that "defined" an arson was accepted as "fact" and used in court to support an incendiary cause for a fire. However, successful defense challenges to many of these indicators has required further scientific validation. ATF's Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) Program has taken fire investigation and analysis beyond a discipline based on experience and has applied scientific and engineering technology.

Today, there are 56 ATF special agents trained as CFIs stationed throughout the United States, and 29 special agents are in the initial stages of training. These agents are the only investigators trained by a Federal law enforcement agency to qualify as expert witnesses in fire cause determinations.

This cadre of origin-and-cause specialists has recently been introduced to the intricacies of computer fire modeling. Through computer software programs, these agents can utilize mathematical equations that describe the chemical and physical behavior of fire. When used properly, these computer programs can simulate a characterized fire, calculating such things as volumetric smoke flow and room temperature as a function of time, the peak heat release rate (or "Q dot," which has come to symbolize the CFI program), and the point at which a transition to flashover will occur. Although a relatively new tool to law enforcement, computer modeling has proven successful in the courtroom. It has been used as an interrogation tool to verify what a witness or suspect has said and as a means to refute the testimony of a defense witness.

In 1995, these men and women participated in approximately 1,531 fire scene examinations involving 147 fatalities, 446 injuries, and $485 million in damages. They are also key members of the NRT and the International Response Team (IRT).