NFPA 921 14:2014 Edition

$80.71

NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations

Published By	Publication Date	Number of Pages
NFPA	2014	402

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Category: NFPA

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Description

Investigate origin and cause with greater accuracy using the 2014 NFPA 921. If your job involves investigating fires and explosions, then you need NFPA 921: Guide For Fire & Explosion Investigations. This document is the premier source for rendering accurate opinions on origin and cause investigations along with incident responsibility and prevention. The NFPA 921 describes in detail the scientific method to apply in fire and explosion investigations. Public and private professionals have long seen NFPA 921 as a valuable resource in the field and in training. It\’s also becoming increasingly relevant in U.S. federal and state courts, where the document is used to evaluate the reliability of fire investigations in both civil and criminal trials. Complying with NFPA 921 can bolster a fire investigator\’s opinion; not complying may result in being excluded from testifying. The 2014 edition marks the first time that NFPA 921 includes color images. This enhancement allows us to communicate and demonstrate key concepts and examples more clearly. As a result, readers will gain a better understanding of the principles of fire and explosion investigation. NFPA 921 also offers essential guidance on: Using the scientific method in origin and cause investigations Documenting an investigation so that all relevant facts are gathered for future use in court Handling fire-related evidence so that it\’s admissible in court Understanding many of the terms related to explosion and fire investigations Make sure you have the most up-to-date information on investigating fires and explosions.

PDF Catalog

PDF Pages	PDF Title
2	Important Notices and Disclaimers
3	Additional Notices and Disclaimers
4	2.1 General 2.2 NFPA Publications
12	Chapter 1 Administration 1.1 Scope 1.2 Purpose 1.3 Application 1.4 Units of Measure 1.5 Measurement Uncertainty
13	Chapter 2 Referenced Publications
14	2.3 Other Publications
16	2.4 References for Extracts in Advisory Sections Chapter 3 Definitions 3.1 General 3.2 NFPA Official Definitions
17	3.3 General Definitions
22	Chapter 4 Basic Methodology 4.1 Nature of Fire Investigations 4.2 Systematic Approach 4.3 Relating Fire Investigation to the Scientific Method
23	4.4 Basic Method of a Fire Investigation
24	4.5 Level of Certainty 4.6 Review Procedure
25	4.7 Reporting Procedure Chapter 5 Basic Fire Science 5.1 Introduction
26	5.2 Fire Chemistry
27	5.3 Products of Combustion 5.4 Fluid Flows 5.5 Heat Transfer
31	5.6 Fuel Load, Fuel Packages, and Properties of Flames
38	5.7 Ignition
43	5.8 Flame Spread
46	5.9 Fire Spread in a Compartment 5.10 Compartment Fire Development
50	5.11 Fire Spread Between Compartments
51	5.12 Paths of Smoke Spread in Buildings Chapter 6 Fire Patterns 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Fire Effects
62	6.3 Fire Patterns
77	6.4 Fire Pattern Analysis
78	Chapter 7 Building Systems 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Features of Design, Construction, and Structural Elements in Evaluating Fire Development
80	7.3 Types of Construction
84	7.4 Construction Assemblies
85	7.5 Construction Materials 7.6 Impact of Passive Fire Protection Systems on Investigation 7.7 Design and Installation Parameters of the System
86	7.8 Documentation and Data Collection 7.9 Analysis
87	Chapter 8 Fire Protection Systems 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Fire Alarm Systems
90	8.3 Water-Based Fire Suppression Systems
93	8.4 Non-Water-Based Fire Suppression Systems
96	8.5 Documentation of Fire Protection Systems
97	8.6 Spoliation Issues Chapter 9 Electricity and Fire 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Basic Electricity
101	9.3 Building Electrical Systems
102	9.4 Service Equipment
103	9.5 Grounding
104	9.6 Overcurrent Protection
108	9.7 Branch Circuits
109	9.8 Outlets and Devices
110	9.9 Ignition by Electrical Energy
112	9.10 Interpreting Damage to Electrical Systems
118	9.11 Identification of Arc Melting of Electrical Conductors
120	9.12 Static Electricity
124	Chapter 10 Building Fuel Gas Systems 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Fuel Gases
125	10.3 Natural Gas Systems
126	10.4 LP-Gas Systems
127	10.5 Common Fuel Gas System Components
128	10.6 Common Piping in Buildings 10.7 Common Appliance and Equipment Requirements
129	10.8 Common Fuel Gas Utilization Equipment 10.9 Investigating Fuel Gas Systems Incidents
134	Chapter 11 Fire-Related Human Behavior 11.1 Introduction 11.2 History of Research 11.3 General Considerations of Human Responses to Fires
136	11.4 Factors Related to Fire Initiation
137	11.5 Children and Fire 11.6 Incendiary Fires 11.7 Human Factors Related to Fire Spread
138	11.8 Recognition and Response to Fires Chapter 12 Legal Considerations 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Constitutional Considerations
139	12.3 Legal Considerations During the Investigation
141	12.4 Pretrial Legal Considerations
142	12.5 Trials
146	Chapter 13 Safety 13.1 General
147	13.2 General Fire Scene Safety
148	13.3 Fire Scene Hazards
151	13.4 Safety Plans
153	13.5 Chemical and Contaminant Exposure 13.6 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
155	13.7 Emergency Action Plans 13.8 Post-Scene Safety Activities 13.9 Safety in Off-Scene Investigation Activities 13.10 Special Hazards
156	Chapter 14 Sources of Information 14.1 General 14.2 Legal Considerations 14.3 Forms of Information
157	14.4 Interviews 14.5 Governmental Sources of Information
160	14.6 Private Sources of Information
161	14.7 Conclusion Chapter 15 Planning the Investigation 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Basic Incident Information
162	15.3 Organizing the Investigation Functions 15.4 Pre-Investigation Team Meeting
163	15.5 Specialized Personnel and Technical Consultants
164	15.6 Case Management Chapter 16 Documentation of the Investigation 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Photography
171	16.3 Note Taking 16.4 Diagrams and Drawings
177	16.5 Reports Chapter 17 Physical Evidence 17.1 General 17.2 Physical Evidence 17.3 Preservation of the Fire Scene and Physical Evidence
179	17.4 Contamination of Physical Evidence
180	17.5 Methods of Collection
182	17.6 Evidence Containers
183	17.7 Identification of Physical Evidence
184	17.8 Transportation and Storage of Physical Evidence
185	17.9 Chain of Custody of Physical Evidence 17.10 Examination and Testing of Physical Evidence
189	17.11 Evidence Disposition Chapter 18 Origin Determination 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Overall Methodology
190	18.3 Data Collection for Origin Determination
194	18.4 Analyze the Data
200	18.5 Developing an Origin Hypothesis 18.6 Testing of Origin Hypotheses
201	18.7 Selecting the Final Hypothesis 18.8 Origin Insufficiently Defined
202	Chapter 19 Fire Cause Determination 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Overall Methodology
203	19.3 Data Collection for Fire Cause Determination
204	19.4 Analyze the Data
205	19.5 Developing a Cause Hypothesis 19.6 Testing the Cause Hypothesis
206	19.7 Selecting the Final Hypothesis
207	Chapter 20 Classification of Fire Cause 20.1 Classification of the Cause Chapter 21 Analyzing the Incident for Cause and Responsibility 21.1 General
208	21.2 The Cause of the Fire or Explosion 21.3 The Cause of Damage to Property Resulting from the Incident 21.4 The Cause of Bodily Injury or Loss of Life 21.5 Determining Responsibility
209	Chapter 22 Failure Analysis and Analytical Tools 22.1 Introduction 22.2 Time Lines
210	22.3 Systems Analysis
213	22.4 Mathematical Modeling
217	22.5 Fire Testing
218	22.6 Data Required for Modeling and Testing Chapter 23 Explosions 23.1 General 23.2 Types of Explosions
220	23.3 Characterization of Explosion Damage 23.4 Effects of Explosions
224	23.5 Factors Controlling Explosion Effects
225	23.6 Seated Explosions
226	23.7 Nonseated Explosions 23.8 Gas/Vapor Combustion Explosions
231	23.9 Dust Explosions
232	23.10 Backdraft (Smoke Explosions) 23.11 Outdoor Vapor Cloud Explosions 23.12 Explosives
233	23.13 Investigation of Explosive Incidents 23.14 Investigating the Explosion Scene
238	23.15 Analyze Origin (Epicenter)
239	23.16 Analyze Fuel Source 23.17 Analyze Ignition Source 23.18 Analyze to Establish Cause
240	Chapter 24 Incendiary Fires 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Incendiary Fire Indicators
242	24.3 Potential Indicators Not Directly Related to Combustion
243	24.4 Other Evidentiary Factors
246	Chapter 25 Fire and Explosion Deaths and Injuries 25.1 General
247	25.2 Mechanisms of Death and Injury
250	25.3 Consumption of the Body by Fire 25.4 Postmortem Changes
251	25.5 Investigating Fire Scenes with Fatalities
253	25.6 Investigating Fire Scenes with Injuries 25.7 Explosion Deaths and Injuries 25.8 Post Scene Investigation of Injuries
254	25.9 Fire Death Pathological and Toxicological Examination
257	25.10 Analysis of Data
259	Chapter 26 Appliances 26.1 Scope 26.2 Appliance Scene Recording
260	26.3 Origin Analysis Involving Appliances
261	26.4 Cause Analysis Involving Appliances
262	26.5 Appliance Components
269	26.6 Common Residential Appliances
271	Chapter 27 Motor Vehicle Fires 27.1 Introduction
272	27.2 Vehicle Investigation Safety 27.3 Fuels in Vehicle Fires
275	27.4 Ignition Sources
276	27.5 System Identification and Function
281	27.6 Body Systems 27.7 Motor Vehicle Fire Scenes.
282	27.8 Motor Vehicle Examinations
286	27.9 Total Burns 27.10 Special Considerations for Incendiary Vehicle Fires 27.11 Vehicle Ignition Components
290	27.12 Vehicles in Structures 27.13 Recreational Vehicles.
293	27.14 Heavy Equipment
294	27.15 Agricultural Equipment and Implements Introduction
300	27.16 Hybrid Vehicles
301	27.17 Towing Considerations 27.18 Hydrogen-Fueled Vehicles Chapter 28 Wildfire Investigations 28.1 Introduction
302	28.2 Wildfire Fuels
304	28.3 Weather 28.4 Topography
305	28.5 Fire Shape 28.6 Indicators
310	28.7 Origin Investigation
313	28.8 Fire Cause Determination
314	28.9 Evidence 28.10 Special Safety Considerations
315	28.11 Sources of Information Chapter 29 Management of Complex Investigations 29.1 Scope
316	29.2 Basic Information and Documents 29.3 Communications Among Interested Parties
317	29.4 Understandings and Agreements
318	29.5 Management of the Investigation
319	29.6 Evidence 29.7 Logistics
320	29.8 Site and Scene Safety Chapter 30 Marine Fire Investigations 30.1 Introduction 30.2 Powerboat and Sailboat Terminology
322	30.3 Boat Investigation Safety
323	30.4 System Identification and Function
325	30.5 Exterior 30.6 Interior
326	30.7 Propulsion Systems
327	30.8 Ignition Sources
329	30.9 Documenting Boat Fire Scenes
331	30.10 Boat Examination
332	30.11 Boats in Structures 30.12 Legal Considerations Annex A Explanatory Material
369	Annex B Bibliography
370	Annex C Informational References
374	Annex D Photograph Credits
378	Index