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Fire & Explosion Investigation Subcommittee

OSAC Fire & Explosion Investigation SC icon

 

The Fire & Explosion Investigation Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the investigation, analyses and interpretation of crime scenes where arson or use of explosives is suspected.

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

 

Officers

David Sheppard, Ph.D., Subcommittee Chair, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Dixon Robin, Subcommittee Vice Chair, Fire Sequence, Inc.

Keith Flood, Executive Secretary, West Shore Fire District

Members

Brittany Brown, South Adams County

Marc Fennell, MDF Forensics

Gregory Gorbett, Eastern Kentucky University

Brian Gordon, Florida Division of Investigative and Forensic Services Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosive Investigations

Dan Gottuk, Gottuk Engineering

Bryan Kempa, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Richard Lempert, University of Michigan (Human Factors Task Group member)

 

John Lentini, Scientific Fire Analysis, LLC

Melanie McMillin, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (Quality Task Group representative)

Jason Poore, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Janis Puracal, Forensic Justice Project (Legal Task Group representative)

Randy Watson, SEA, Ltd.

Bruce Willis, Piedmont University

Fire & Explosion Affiliate List

Standards

On the OSAC Registry

  • NFPA 921:2021 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations (added September 6, 2022).
  • NFPA 1033:2022 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigators (added September 6, 2022).

Published by a Standards Developing Organization (SDO) and Eligible for the Registry

  • NFPA 289 Fire Tests for Fuel Packages
  • NFPA 921:2024 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations 
    • Note: The previous version, NFPA 921:2021, is currently on the OSAC Registry

At an SDO for Further Development & Publication

Under Development

  • Revision to NFPA 1033:xx Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigators.

Other Work Products  

Process Maps

Research & Development Needs

Technical Guidance Documents

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies & Bibliographic References

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

ASTM (https://astm.org):

  • ASTM E620 Standard Practice for Reporting Opinions of Scientific or Technical Experts.
  • ASTM E678 Standard Practice for Evaluation of Scientific and Technical Data.
  • ASTM E860 Standard Practice for Examining and Preparing Items that Are or May Become Involved in Criminal or Civil Litigation.
  • ASTM E1020 Standard Practice for Reporting Incidents that May Involve Criminal or Civil Litigation.
  • ASTM E1188 Standard Practice for Collection and Preservation of Information and Physical Items by a Technical Investigator.
  • ASTM E1355 Standard Guide for Evaluating the Predictive Capability of Deterministic Fire Models.
  • ASTM E1459 Standard Guide for Physical Evidence Labeling and Related Documentation.
  • ASTM E1492 Standard Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, and Retrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science Laboratory.
  • ASTM 1591 Standard Guide for Obtaining Data for Fire Growth Models.

Websites:

Created June 27, 2014, Updated February 13, 2024