Local prosecutors use fire training to help solve arson cases
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NORTH BEND, Wash. -- The King County sheriff's office solves arson cases at twice the national average, and one reason for the success is that arson investigators offer prosecuting attorneys a baptism by fire.
Fire investigators teach prosecutors the tricks of the trade by dressing them in cumbersome firefighting gear and sending them into a burning building.
The hope is that by putting them through the state fire training academy, the prosecutors wil be able to translate that knowledge into success in the courtroom.
"It is a frightening, frightening experience and it seems to destroy everything in its path," said attorney Scott O'Toole.
O'Toole has taken on his share of arson cases at the King County prosecutor's office, and he hopes his new training will give him an even sharper edge on his next case.
"Being able to communicate that to a jury because you've experienced it, you've seen it, you've seen the destructive power of fire," he said. "There's nothing that can even touch that in bringing that realism home inside a courtroom."
Justin Herleman has worked in the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office for less than a year. He said seeing fire through the eyes of a real firefighter has been an invaluable experience.
"You're more confident when you get that file on your desk and say, 'Okay, what do I need to look for, what am I doing, what do I need to prove my case?" he said.
Snohomish County Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Makela loves teaching lawyers his craft. He's seen prosecutors shy away from cases because arson can be one of the most difficult crimes to prove, but in the heat of a burning building, wearing turnout gear, they can forge a bond.
"They can say, 'Hey, you know what? I''ve been there. I've seen it in action. I'm all about this and I'm going to do my best so we can hope to get a conviction on whoever's responsible for that fire,'" Makela said.
King County has been offering this training to prosecutors for nearly 10 years, and organizers say it's so popular that there's always a waiting list.
Fire investigators teach prosecutors the tricks of the trade by dressing them in cumbersome firefighting gear and sending them into a burning building.
The hope is that by putting them through the state fire training academy, the prosecutors wil be able to translate that knowledge into success in the courtroom.
"It is a frightening, frightening experience and it seems to destroy everything in its path," said attorney Scott O'Toole.
O'Toole has taken on his share of arson cases at the King County prosecutor's office, and he hopes his new training will give him an even sharper edge on his next case.
"Being able to communicate that to a jury because you've experienced it, you've seen it, you've seen the destructive power of fire," he said. "There's nothing that can even touch that in bringing that realism home inside a courtroom."
Justin Herleman has worked in the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office for less than a year. He said seeing fire through the eyes of a real firefighter has been an invaluable experience.
"You're more confident when you get that file on your desk and say, 'Okay, what do I need to look for, what am I doing, what do I need to prove my case?" he said.
Snohomish County Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Makela loves teaching lawyers his craft. He's seen prosecutors shy away from cases because arson can be one of the most difficult crimes to prove, but in the heat of a burning building, wearing turnout gear, they can forge a bond.
"They can say, 'Hey, you know what? I''ve been there. I've seen it in action. I'm all about this and I'm going to do my best so we can hope to get a conviction on whoever's responsible for that fire,'" Makela said.
King County has been offering this training to prosecutors for nearly 10 years, and organizers say it's so popular that there's always a waiting list.
This training was sponsored and provided by the Washington Region 4 Fire Investigation Council, comprised of line level investigators from Snohomish, Pierce, and King County fire departments and fire marshal agencies. It has always been their goal to include detectives and prosecutors to improve investigation, training, and prosecution. We are thankful that the KCSO agency attended and brought KOMO to our training course because it helps bring attention to the needs of this profession in training for the generational turnover we are experiencing throughout the state.
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There is no single cross training that can replace the expansive knowledge of fire science, police processes, and court procedures required to prove that a fire is an arson. Fire and Arson investigation is the most difficult and dangerous form of investigation done in public safety. This training was to provide 1 single day for prosecutors, barely an awareness of the science and dangers, for them to understand and be motivated to work the arson cases we submit. King County's Fire Investigation Unit is exactly specialized, because of the very, very few fire or police agencies who are qualified to, or that choose to perform comprehensive fire investigation to even determine if fires are accidental or incendiary.
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Some agencies only do origin & cause, and expect someone else to do the following arson investigations for them, and a lot of cases slip through the cracks. King County FIU (KCSO) does the entire call from dispatch to conviction, but even they are grossly understaffed. Unique agencies like theirs are usually separate fire marshal divisions that are particularly hard hit by budget cuts despite their rare qualifications and the lack of similarly trained and highly experienced contemporaries.
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Fire Departments notoriously do not thoroughly cross train their firefighter/investigators thru the police academy, and virtually no police agencies send their detectives for a real fire academy despite open training slots in each discipline's training programs. Both sides ought to be conducted through complete cross training for their safety and success at this highly specialized field. The statewide result is low case development and completion and too few cases prosecuted. The NFPA guidelines which fire departments follow for best practices, set strong regulations for training and methodology for fire and explosion investigation. But few fire or police jurisdictions are pursuing conformance with the guidelines despite their use in court cases as the minimum standard.
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Yesterday's training for prosecutors and detectives is just a tiny, tiny preview of the need to do better in our casework. Truth be told, most fire agencies barely scratch the surface of properly investigating every fire as the law requires. And worse, many police agency detectives do not get summoned to perform or trained to understand the crime of arson, fire science, or the fire setting behaviors. There is a non-uniform certification process, however there is no clear required training because the Washington State Fire Marshal's Office has abdicated all responsibility for providing the mandatory training or providing the investigation services. It is a frustrating conundrum for those in the service, and we are all liable for the consequences.
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Can you imagine how quality would suffer if there were no consistent Paramedic or Attorney or Police Officer professional training courses and performance standards used by the state? We need to thank the Region 4 Fire Investigators Training Council and the Washington State Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators for their assistance in making regional training courses such as this available to fire investigators, attorneys, and police detectives. We need uniform safety standards and procedures throughout the state.
There may be reason for hope for the endless demands of overspecialization after all. Specific knowledge of multiple skillsets always pays off eventually, and we tend to forget it in a specialized certification driven society like ours.
really awesome and great idea way to go king county