Fire investigation attracts early narratives. A systematic methodology exists precisely because the most available explanation is often the least tested.
01
Structure the investigation, then follow it
Scene documentation, fire pattern analysis, arc mapping, appliance and equipment examination, and fuel and ignition source evaluation each contribute independent evidence. The method requires that each hypothesis be tested against all of it.
An unexamined ignition source is a hypothesis, not a finding.
02
Process facilities complicate origin analysis
In industrial settings, release, dispersion, and ignition can be separated in both space and time. Establishing origin requires the process record: inventories, pressures, alarms, isolation actions, and maintenance activity in progress.
03
State what remains undetermined
A methodologically sound report distinguishes between determined, undetermined, and excluded. That discipline is what allows the conclusion to hold under cross examination.
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