Fire/Arson Investigations Bureau

The Fire/Arson Investigations Bureau is responsible for determining the origin, cause, and circumstances related to a fire incident. State fire investigators respond to requests for assistance from local fire departments and law enforcement agencies and receive specialized training in origin/cause determination, evidence collection, interviewing, and fraud detection as well as other aspects of criminal investigation.
The bureau is currently staffed with 5 investigators. Due to a large number of fire investigation requests, a protocol has been established that allocates the bureau’s resources in the most effective manner. State fire investigators typically respond to:

• Fatality fires
• Any fires involving firefighter injury or death
• Large loss fires
• Incendiary fires
• Fires where there is no local fire investigator
• Fires involving damage to state property
• Fires where the exact cause of the fire cannot be determined

Once on a fire scene, state fire investigators work closely with local government, law enforcement, and fire officials in the collection and analysis of evidence in origin/cause determination and assist in the prosecution of arson cases.