| FIRE INVESTIGATION UNIT |
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Introduction |
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District provides full time, professional fire investigation services to many areas of the county. The Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) has one Supervisor, two full-time Investigators and four Fire Prevention Inspectors who provide part-time fire investigation support to the FIU for 24-hour coverage. The FIU provides investigation services to 20 cities with a population of approximately 625,000 covering 555 square miles.
An example of the duties performed by the FIU are: to determine the origin and cause of fires that occur in Contra Costa County, more specifically, fires or other incidents that are suspected to be criminal in nature.
The primary purpose of the Fire Investigation Unit is the investigation of fires that are intentionally set, suspicious fires, unlawful fires, attempted arson, fires causing a serious injury or death, and possession or use of fireworks, incendiary devices, and explosives. The duties and responsibilities of the FIU include: conducting interviews of suspects, victims and witnesses; sifting through fire debris to determine the origin of the fire; identifying possible ignition sources; collect and preserve physical evidence; document the fire scene with sketches and photographs; prepare, serve and return search warrants; prepare criminal fire offense cases for submittal to the District Attorney’s Office for complaints; arrest and process criminal offenders; give expert witness testimony and present evidence in court; process felony offenses committed by juveniles; instruct fire and police personnel on fire and arson investigation procedures; and respond to fire and/or rescue emergencies as required.
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2004 Statistical Information |
Total Fire Investigation Unit Cases 442
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Structure Fires 95
Vehicle Fires 94
Open Space/Wildland Fires 119
Miscellaneous Fires 129
Attempted Arson/Devices/Police Assists 5
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Fatalities 13
Injuries 20
Juvenile Related Fires 32
Fireworks Related Fires 30
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Total Dollar Loss $12,029,313.00
Criminal or Suspicious Fires 286
Adults Identified 11
Juveniles Identified 12
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Arson Tip Line Toll-free 1-866- 50-ARSON |
1-866-502-7766
You can help the Fire District fight fires! Call the Arson Tip Line to leave a recorded message about fire-related criminal activity, in English or Spanish. You can leave an anonymous tip, but sometimes the Fire Investigator needs to call you back for more information, so we ask for your name and phone number. All investigations are treated confidentially.
Community involvement is critical to solving cases of arson. In general, the citizens of Contra Costa County are very helpful in providing authorities information about crimes that have occurred in their communities.
You can make a difference. When you call the Arson Tip Line, don’t worry if you think the information you have seems too little or unimportant. Some of our best tips come from citizens who were not aware that what they saw was really very important to the investigation of an incident. |
Arson is a Crime |
Across the U.S. in 2002, there were an estimated 131,000 intentional (arson) structure and vehicle fires. These fires resulted in 730 civilian deaths, 2,200 civilian injuries and $2.2 billion in direct property damage.
In the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District area of responsibility, there were approximately 442 Fire Investigation Unit cases in 2004. Of those cases, 65 % (286) were determined to be arson or suspicious fires.
Every year in early May, the United States Fire Administration, a division of the Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes national Arson Awareness Week across the United States. |
