Wildland Fire Investigation, FI–210 Origin and Cause Determination

Civil Court -Defendant is subject to monetary damages, but no imprisonment is possible. -Burden
of Proof is “Preponderance of the Evidence” (51% vs. 49%)
Criminal Court -Defendant can be imprisoned and/or fined -Burden of Proof is “Beyond a
Reasonable Doubt” (99% vs. 1%)
4-15 Fire Investigation – Evidence
From a legal standpoint, evidence is anything used to prove or disprove an alleged fact. The
evidence itself is not proof it is used to establish facts, so proof is the result of evidence. In order for your
evidence to be admitted into the court record it must be relevant, authenticated and properly identified.
Evidence
Admissibility – Can your evidence be introduced in court
Relevance: To be admissible, the evidence must have a demonstrable connection to the facts of
the case.
Authentication: To be admissible, it must be shown that the evidence is the sameevidence that was
collected at the fire scene.
Identification: To be admissible, it must be shown that the evidence has not been tampered with,
altered, or contaminated since it was collected at the fire scene.
4-16 Fire Investigation – Chain of Custody
Evidence usually passes through many hands on its way to a courtroom. The written record that
contains the name of every person, date and time a piece of evidence is handled or changes possession is
known as the Chain of Custody. Making sure this record accurate will help prevent allegations of
evidence tampering or spoliation. In addition, each piece of evidence must be properly and thoroughly
identified. This is usually done by attaching an authentication tag that contains as much information as
possible about that evidence.
Evidence Chain of Custody:
Chain of Custody describes the written record containing the name of every person who handles
evidence and the dates and times it’s handled or changes possession
Proper documentation of the chain of custody will help prevent allegations of evidence tampering,
alteration, or spoliation.
Proper documentation of the chain of custody will help an investigator accurately identify and
authenticate a piece of evidence.
Identification:
• Attach a completed evidence tag, which contains, at a minimum:-Item description -Item
number-Case number -Date and time recovered -Location recovered -Name of the recovering
officer -Signature of the recovering officer
4-17 Fire Investigation – Expert Witness
In most fire cases investigators will be called to testify about their findings. Unless the person
testifying is qualified as an “expert” their opinion is not admissible, only their factual observations.