Arson Pathfinder: A Guide to Literature on the Topic
This guide will introduce some of the resources available in the LRC on Arson and Fire Investigations. The various types of library materials useful in research are listed along with some examples of each type. This guide is not a comprehensive listing of sources, but is intended to be a starting point from which students can begin their research according to their specific needs.
Initial Background Reading 
- The fire chief's handbook (6th ed.) by Robert Barr et al.. (See chapter 27 - Fire Investigations) - Citation
- Chief fire officer's desk reference, edited by John M. Buckman – (See chapter 22 - Fire Investigations) - Citation
- Arson in the United States - Full Report - PDF
- Fire and arson scene evidence – a guide for public safety personnel – DoJ Research Report - Full report - PDF
Books
- Principles of fire behavior, by James Quintiere - Citation
- Scientific protocols for fire investigation, by John Lentini - Citation
- Kirk's fire investigation (6th ed.), by John DeHaan - Citation
- Ignition Handbook, by Vytenis Babrauskas - Citation
- Criminal investigation (2nd ed.) by Ronald Becker. See chapter 16 – Arson. - Citation
- Forensic fire scene reconstruction (2nd ed.), by David Icove and John DeHaan - Citation
- Arson by Gail Stewart - Citation
- Understanding the arsonist: from assessment to confession by Dian Williams - Citation
- Arson investigation: the step-by-step procedure (2nd ed.) by Thomas Bouquard - Citation
Magazine Articles
Find more articles like these in the LRC online catalog by limiting results to the journal articles document type.
- “Interviews and interrogations: a critical part of the fire investigation” by Daniel Higgins. Firehouse Magazine, (September 1997) - Citation
- “Juvenile arson: the importance of early intervention” by Paul Zipper. Time, (Aug 18, 2003) - Citation - Full article
- “Setting the scene”. Fire Risk Management (September 2008) - Citation
- Browse more journal article citations
Arson Incidents
- Twelve-fatality hotel arson, Reno, Nevada - Citation - Full report – PDF
- The Grems case: how an arson case was solved and prosecuted in Colorado - Citation - Full report - PDF
Executive Fire Officer Program Papers
How do I find more EFO papers like these? 2 min online tutorial
- Analysis of a prospective fire investigation task force in Thurston County, Washington - Citation - Full report - PDF
- Managing fire investigation scenes - Citation - Full report - PDF
- Developing a fire investigation policy for Yakima County - Citation - Full report - PDF
- Developing a fire investigation policy for the Brea Fire Department - Citation - Full report - PDF
- Analyzing the effectiveness of the Oklahoma City Fire Department in determining the cause of fires - Citation - Full report - PDF
- Fire investigation response team: a joint fire and police team - Citation- Only available at LRC
- Development of a joint fire and law enforcement fire investigation policy - Citation - Full report - PDF
Online reports/documents/guides
Find more like these? Try our Fulltext search in the LRC Online Catalog.
- Attacking the violent crime of arson - Full report - PDF
- Fire-setting and arson prevention ptaff training manual - Full report - PDF
- Incendiarism: an overview and an appraisal - Full report - PDF
- Arson: exploring motives and possible solutions - Full report - PDF
- Firefighter arson - USFA Technical Report Series - Full report - PDF
- Fire investigation mythunderstandings - interFire -Full report - PDF
- How CPSC can help speed your fire investigation - interFire - Full report - PDF
- Juvenile fire setting: a research overview - Full report - PDF
- NFPA 921: guide for fire and explosion investigations - Citation
- Safety and health guidelines for fire and explosion investigators - Citation
Organizations and Statistics
Find more sites like these below by using the LRC Google Custom Search Engine
- Interfire Online - Link to website
- International Association of Arson Investigators - Link to website
- Insurance Committee for Arson Control - Link to website
- USFA Arson Statistics - Link to website
- USFA Arson Resources - Link to website
- National Association of Fire Investigators - Link to website
- National Center For Forensic Science - Link to website
Multimedia Resources
Find more titles like these in LRC catalog by limiting your search to document types DVD or Video
