Technology plays a huge role in fire investigations and is helping move this field to all new levels. I had the opportunity to interview Cameron Novak of Novak Investigations Inc., based in Lindstrom Minnesota. Cameron is working on his Masters in Fire Protection Engineering here at the University of Maryland and has been a Fire Investigator for the past 10 years. His father, James Novak started Novak investigations, Inc. in 2000 and has been investigating fire ever since.
Cameron noted that the use of technology has helped move the field of fire investigations form being more of an art to a science. Investigators are now able to use all sorts of equipment like combustible gas meters and cameras that weren’t available before. Not only is the equipment becoming more available, but it is also becoming more affordable for the average investigator. I spoke with Cameron about how live burns are performed in order for investigators and fire protection engineers to study and measure working fires within structures. Digital cameras are often set up inside the burning rooms to get a closer look at how the fire behaves. A tricky part about measuring fire is that the conditions involving fire are dangerous and challenging to observe. Cheap digital cameras are now set up inside live burns in order to capture fire behavior and movement. There was a time when this study was extremely unpractical and expensive because the cameras used film which were combustible and very hard to keep protected near a fire. The video from the new cameras is sent wirelessly to computers so even if the relatively cheap cameras are destroyed in a fire the data is still available on a computer. I spoke with a fire engineer once who told me that in one study alone, they could go through as many as 10 cameras or more.
The field of fire investigations is interesting in that all fires are different. Some structure fires behave similarly, however not every building layout and room composition is the same. My interviewee stated that one technology that is helping this field forward is the use of computers and networking between investigators, engineers, and scientists. Cameron brought up the point that every fire investigator will have a couple odd fires in their studies which are unlike fires people have ever seen before. With the use of networking, investigators are now able to share these odd experiences with each other. Fire investigators from around the world can come together to come together to figure out these odd firs and share information.
I think that we can already see the positive effects of modern information sharing relating to fire science. The National Fire Protection Agency is constantly coming up with nation-wide standards for building codes based on the research performed by fire investigators and engineers. These codes have saved thousands of lives and have helped to protect buildings in the event of a fire. The reason why all new structures within Prince Georges County are required to be build with fire sprinkler systems are a result of the studies and recommendations by the NFPA and fire investigators/engineers.
Fire investigators use many tools to conduct studies and observe fires. One of the tools which is recently becoming popular among investigators is fire modeling. Fire modeling uses computer programs to simulate fires within buildings. Investigators can build entire buildings on a computer and start different kinds of fires to see how they would work and how well the building design could hold up in the event of a fire. One advancement that I know of in building construction is the use of doors at the entrance of hallways going up stairs. Fires spread rapidly in stairwells and if all the halls leading off the stairway are unprotected, fire can spread throughout an entire building in as 5 minutes. Fire Engineers can also work with Investigators to design sprinkler systems for buildings based on previous knowledge and information gathered from simulators.
The most important job of a fire investigator is to study fire fatalities and the causes for them. Most fire fatalities do not result solely from heat related injuries. Victims of fires often inhale too much smoke which displaces vital oxygen required to sustain life. Investigators also look for smoke patterns and come up with plans to reduce smoke buildup inside buildings. Some larger buildings are designed with smoke removal systems in stairways to reduce smoke levels long enough for victims to make egress and firefighters to extinguish the fire.
Overall technology has gone a long way since the beginning of fire investigations. Cheaper equipment is also making useful equipment like computers and cameras easily obtainable by your average investigators. Networking and information sharing is also making a huge difference in the field and investigators are able to study fire unlike ever before.
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