Fire Investigation

Fire investigations within the service area of the Valley Regional Fire Authority are conducted by members of the South King Fire Investigation Task Force (SKFITF). This task force was created in 2004 and combined the investigative resources of Kent Fire and Life Safety and the Valley Regional Fire Authority. This combined investigative effort provides fire investigation services to the cities of Algona, Auburn, Covington, Kent and Pacific on a 24 hour basis, 365 days a year. This is a shining example of the VRFA's focus on providing the highest levels of service at the most cost effective value for our community.

What is a Fire Investigation?

A fire investigation is conducted to determine the origin, cause, and other factors that may have contributed to the ignition and growth of a fire.

Investigation data is used to:

• Reduce loss of life and property
• Determine if a fire was intentionally set
• Provide a basis of fact for after-fire legal processes
• Identity trends
• Develop Public Education programs

What is the Investigator's Job?

The investigator's job is to determine the origin and cause of every fire after ruling out all possibilities of how and where the fire started.

If possible, the investigator will document a fire scene with still photographs or video before the fire is extinguished.

When the scene is secure and safe for entry, the investigator observes and documents the scene while going from the area least burned to area most burned.

The scene is secured from the time the fire crews arrive, throughout the entire investigation and until the scene is officially released back to the property owner.

If the fire is in a large occupancy or is a multi-family fire, VRFA utilizes investigation teams that can include law enforcement, insurance adjusters, private investigators and jurisdictional Building Department Officials. These teams divide up responsibilities such as:

• Interviews of witnesses, bystanders and first-in firefighters.
• Processing the physical scene by examining the structure or scene for fire patterns and evidence.
• Documenting the scene with photographs and diagrams.
• Preserving and collecting evidence by maintaining the "Chain of Evidence" so it is clearly documented who has handled the evidence, when and why.
• Providing information to the Public Information Officers or acting on their behalf with news media.

After the investigation is complete, the investigator is responsible for releasing the occupancy back to the property owners.

Lastly, the investigator submits a report containing all information regarding the investigation in a standard format. The investigator may be called on to testify in either a civil or criminal case with his or her conclusions concerning the investigation.

What are Fire Investigation Response Procedures?

Valley Regional Fire Authority / South King Fire Investigation Task Force (VRFA / SKFITF) fire investigators respond to calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week including all holidays. Fire investigators are dispatched to fires as part of the initial fire suppression response team or at the request of the fire scene incident commander. Fire investigators do not respond with red lights and sirens like a fire truck, but will proceed as part of normal traffic; however VRFA / SKFITF fire investigators routinely arrive at the fire scene close behind the fire trucks. By arriving early in the fire incident, fire investigators have the best chance interviewing witnesses, observing the fire spread, and making a cause determination for the fire.

VRFA / SKFITF fire investigators examine most of the fires within its jurisdiction, with a focus on fires involving:

• Fires involving an injury or death
• High dollar loss ($10,000 or more)
• Deliberately set fires
• Multiple fires in one area
• Fires where the cause is not immediately apparent
• Stolen vehicles