A fire and rescue service that delivers effective, efficient and valid fire investigations into the origin, cause and development of fire to continually improve the safety of its community and its employees.
It has a competent and resilient capability to undertake fire investigations, either through direct employment or in collaboration with other services. It works with interested parties so that investigations are consistently conducted in accordance with the relevant legislation, guidance and codes of practice and conduct.
A service that effectively collates and analyses information obtained through the fire investigation process which leads to:
- a better understanding of the origin and cause of fire;
- a better understanding of how buildings and people behave in relation to fire;
- the identification of risks to inform its Community Risk Management Planning and contribute to the improvement of its prevention and protection strategies;
- improvements to firefighter safety and operational response;
- the identification and sharing of learning to continually improve local and national fire investigation practices; and
- better support justice system processes and other interested parties or agencies, where appropriate.
A service, through having achieved the appropriate accreditation when required, may support the criminal justice system by undertaking investigations of deliberately caused fires. It may do this in conjunction with police crime scene investigators, other interested parties or both.