Criminal investigation Term Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal investigation Term - Essay Example Despite the benefits of fire, the disadvantages include atmospheric pollution, hazard to living organisms, soil erosion, and water contamination among others. Fire can obliterate one’s house and the entire belongings within an hour or even destroy a large forest and thus, reducing it to a pile of cinders as well as charred wood. Owing to the magnitude of the effects of a fire, there is a need for a thorough analysis and enlightenment on the causes of such destructive fires, the burn indicators, fire setting, and mechanisms of initiating fire, establishing the motives of the arsonists as well as means of locating the suspects. One of the first steps in an arson investigation is to determine not only where the fire originated but also how it started. The importance of pin pointing the origin of the fire allows investigators to more accurately determine whether foul play was involved or if the fire simply started by accident. A certain level of heat and some type of combustible material, which will combust at a given temperature, is needed to create a fire (Swanson, Chamelin, Territo, & Taylor, 2009). If the fire is accidental it could have started for many reasons to include a faulty electrical system, negligent smokers who fall asleep or leave their cigarette burning unattended, and the ever popular space heaters that are normally electrically powered will create enough heat or short out, thus creating a fire. In addition, an accidental fire could occur due to spontaneous combustion. Take for example, linseed oil. This oil is normally purchased as a widely used stain and sealant and can be quite combustible. If in a concentrated form, on something as basic as a rag that was used for staining some furniture, the evaporation caused by the oxidation of the oil creates enough heat to spontaneously combust (William, 2003). This could happen over the course of a couple hours, days, or even weeks