A New Forensic Resource
for Fire Scene Investigation

The ATF Fire Research Laboratory (FRL) is the first scientific research laboratory in the United States dedicated to supporting the unique needs of the fire investigation community.

 

Arson is an insidious crime that claims the lives of hundreds of Americans annually and costs billions of dollars. Research is crucial to understand the scientific principles associated with fire ignition, growth and spread. This information is critical for accurate fire scene reconstruction and to develop reliable scientifically valid theories for effective criminal prosecutions.

At the present time, there are no fire research facilities in the United States, or elsewhere, dedicated to the specific needs of the fire investigation community. The FRL will provide the necessary facilities, equipment and staff to work on important fire investigation issues such as fire scene reconstruction, flashover studies, validation of fire pattern analysis indicators, impact of accelerants on fire growth and spread ignition studies and electrical fire cause analysis.

The FRL will conduct research, case support, training and education for fire investigation and analysis on behalf of ATF Certified Fire Investigators (CFIs), prosecutors, and the fire investigation community at-large. The new laboratory's technical planning and development is a partnership among the University of Maryland's Department of Fire Protection Engineering, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Building and Fire Research Laboratory and Factory Mutual Research Corporation.

The goals of the FRL are to:

• Serve as a national and international model for forensic fire research;
• Conduct scientific research directed at the determination of fire causes, fire development and other fire phenomena that validates fire scene indicators and improves fire evidence analysis;
• Establish a central repository of fire investigation test and research data;
• Develop an internationally recognized research and education center for the advancement of knowledge and technology transfer related to fire cause investigation and fire scene reconstruction;
• Operate as a full-scale testing laboratory conducting reconstruction analysis to determine where additional research on fire science and fire investigation is needed.

An ATF Certified Fire Investigator gathers fire debris evidence at the scene of a fire. Research at the FRL will help to develop improved investigative and prosecutorial procedures.