"It's very unlikely that you'll ever see a suspect running out
of a burning building with a gas can in his hand," says John Putinsky.
Putinsky is a fire investigator. "You're working with circumstantial
evidence, and that's one of the most difficult aspects of this job."
Putinsky says you must consider the evidence and carefully come to a conclusion.
"Our findings can make serious lifestyle changes for any suspects involved.
We must make sure we come to the correct conclusion."
You don't want to send an innocent person to jail. You also don't
want to let an arsonist go free to repeat his crime.
"I'm always suspicious when I walk into a fire scene and someone already
has a theory about how it started," says Putinsky. "You know something is
wrong right away when the owner tries to force his theory on you.
"Study statistics!" he advises students. "Statistics show about 50 percent
of murders are committed by someone the victim knows. When you walk on to
the crime scene, you already have a 50-50 chance of solving the crime. It's
the same way with statistics and arson."
For example, Putinsky says that once you peel away the arson, there is
usually another crime hidden beneath it -- like murder or fraud.
Amy Krise worked for four years as a crime scene evidence technician in
Charlotte, North Carolina, before becoming a fire investigator. In one year,
she worked 176 fire scenes.
"As a CSS tech, I worked on numerous fire scenes in which the fire investigators
were on the scene, determining the origin and cause of the fire," she says.
At the time, Krise's duties included photographing, documenting and
collecting physical evidence on a crime scene. "I learned more about the fire
investigators and their functions as I worked alongside them on these cases,"
she adds.
When a position as a fire investigator became available, she inquired about
it. She had the investigative experience and ability to learn "how to read"
a fire.
"At the time, I was growing weary of running from call to call and simply
collecting evidence. It was challenging, but not satisfying," she explains.
Her position now allows her to grow from her experience with the police
department. Like her previous job, it doesn't require firefighting experience.
She still collects evidence from crimes as she did before. "This position
expands on those skills. I follow the investigation from the initial scene
to court." Her duties now include interviewing witnesses and suspects. She
also testifies as an expert witness in court.
"I get to talk to people and get to know them. At CSS, I would deal with
people on a one-time basis. I like the contact I now have with others."
The most rewarding part of this profession, she says, is when an arsonist
confesses and justice is served. "I would say that the closure of the case
for the victim, whether the fire started accidentally or intentionally, is
most rewarding to me."
She advises anyone interested in this profession to get the best education
they can through a local community college or university. She also recommends
taking a wide range of relevant classes: photography, psychology, criminology
and chemistry.
"A good way to learn about the position is to call your local fire or police
department and ride along for a shift and watch the person at work," she says.
Michael Schlatman is a past board member of the International Association
of Arson Investigators. He has been in this career since 1991. As a detective
working on his master's degree, he wrote a paper on arson, since everyone
else was writing about burglary or homicide.
"In my department, that automatically made me the fire investigator guy,"
he says. Like many arson investigators, Schlatman worked his way into the
arson unit through the police department.
Schlatman compares this job to a gigantic puzzle. "You put together the
pieces of a fire scene to trace the fire patterns back to the area of origin
and then to the point of origin -- where the fire started."
He says the most rewarding part of this career is getting an arsonist convicted.
He also likes making sure someone doesn't benefit from a fraudulent insurance
claim.
Investigator Roy Paul of the Houston Arson Unit shares insight into the
stress of this job. "Our opinion can have a very dramatic effect on people's
lives. If the fire is intentional and someone dies, then you're looking
at a murder conviction."
Even if there isn't a death involved, the responsible party can be
sued. That can mean a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.
"All fire investigation is, is a person's opinion," Paul explains.
He says they often have to testify in court. They come up against tough lawyers
who call in expert witnesses to challenge their opinions.
If you want to excel at this job, according to Paul, "You have to withstand
pressure and stick to the skills you develop on the job."