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Fire Investigation

In the early part of 1981, a joint meeting was held with representatives of the Police and Fire Departments and the Polk County Attorney's Office to devise a plan to combat the growing arson problem in Des Moines. The outcome of this meeting was the creation of the Des Moines Arson Task Force.

The purpose of the Arson Task Force is to provide a conceptual framework and to bring about a close, continuous cooperation and the coordination necessary to establish a system for the prevention and control of arson fires in the City of Des Moines. The members of the Task Force are a coalition of interested persons representing both the public and private sector.

The Arson Task Force consists of two fire investigation teams. Each fire investigation team consists of a Senior Fire Inspector and a Senior Police Officer and an assigned person from the Polk County Attorney's office. All fires are investigated with the team approach in mind. The intent of the team approach is to provide better communication between fire and police officials as well as other agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, State of Iowa Fire Marshals Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Training is a priority with members of the Arson Task Force. Members frequently attend special schools and training seminars to update themselves with the newest trends and technology in the field of fire investigation. Members of the task force conduct regular training seminars for personnel of the Des Moines Fire and Police Departments. Part of this training includes live house burns. Upon request, investigators conduct talks to members of the public and private sector.

The primary Arson Task Force consists of two fire investigation teams compromised from members of the Des Moines Fire and Police Departments. Each investigation team will work an on-call shift for a period of one week, beginning on a Monday at 0800 hrs. and will conclude on the following Monday at 0800 hrs. On-call investigators are subject to respond to a request for a fire investigation at any time, day or night, during the above-mentioned time frame.

At a fire scene, investigators conduct an origin and cause investigation. This involves the examination of fire debris for clues as to how the fire may have started. Evidence is collected for analysis, photographs are taken of the fire scene and interviews are conducted with all people pertinent to the case. The final step of the investigation process is to write a formal report in which the findings of the investigation are detailed. Investigators, when required, testify to their findings in both formal hearings and court proceedings.

Members of the task force assist both the private business and insurance industry sectors in an exchange of information in a combined effort to combat the arson fire problem.

The Des Moines Arson Task Force investigates approximately 350 to 400 fires yearly. Of the fires investigated, 65 to 75 percent are believed to be arson. Although the number of reported arson related fires has declined in recent years, arson fires continue to reflect some alarming statistics.

• ONE OUT OF EVERY FOUR FIRES - SOME 500,000 - THAT OCCUR IN THE UNITED STATES EACH YEAR IS ARSON RELATED. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION AGENCY, IN A TYPICAL YEAR 100,000 BUILDING FIRES ARE SET. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AUTOS AND TRUCK FIRES ARE DELIBERATELY SET.
• ARSON IS THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH BY FIRE IN THE UNITED STATES - TOPPED ONLY BY SMOKING, AND IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF PROPERTY DAMAGE.
• ARSONISTS KILL MORE THAN 700 AMERICANS YEARLY.
• ARSON IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH FOR PRESCHOOLERS, ACCOUNTING FOR 85 OF EVERY 100 DEATHS.
• ARSONISTS INFLICT MORE THAN 2 BILLION DOLLARS IN PROPERTY DAMAGE EACH YEAR - 600 DOLLARS WORTH OF PROPERTY GOES UP IN SMOKE EVERY 10 SECONDS.
• ARSONISTS OFTEN ESCAPE PUNISHMENT. ONLY 16% ARE ARRESTED AND ONLY 2% OF THOSE ARRESTED ARE CONVICTED.
• IN 1995, THOSE 20 YEARS OF AGE AND UNDER ACCOUNTED FOR 61.2 PERCENT OF ALL ARSON FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES.
• ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 55 PERCENT OF THOSE PEOPLE ARRESTED FOR ARSON IN 1994 WERE UNDER THE AGE OF 18; 6.9 PERCENT UNDER 10 YEARS OF AGE.
• NATIONAL STUDIES STATE THERE APPEARS TO BE A GROWING LINK BETWEEN ARSON AND ILLEGAL DRUG ACTIVITY. PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF A NEW STUDY BY THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION SUGGEST THAT BETWEEN ONE-FIFTH AND ONE-FOURTH OF REPORTED ARSON CASES IN MAJOR CITIES ARE DRUG-RELATED.
• FIRES CLASSIFIED AS ARSON IN THE CITY OF DES MOINES FOR 1996 CONSISTED OF:
  • 91 STRUCTURE FIRES (COMMERCIAL & DWELLING)
    TOTAL LOSS: $1,760,928.00
  • 40 VEHICLE FIRES (COMMERCIAL & PRIVATE)
    TOTAL LOSS: $141,835.00
  • 23 LAND FIRES (TREES, BRUSH, GRASS)
  • 34 REFUSE FIRES (WASTE CONTAINERS)
• OF THE 80 FIRES INVESTIGATED IN THE CITY OF DES MOINES AS OF APRIL 30, 1997, 42 HAVE BEEN CLASSIFIED AS ARSON, TOTALING $54,000.00 IN LOSS.

The National Arson Forum says if you know or suspect that an arson crime has been committed, contact your local fire or police official. In Des Moines, you can call the Des Moines Fire Department, Fire Investigation Division, at (515) 283-4960 and (515) 283-4006. Calls can also be directed to the Arrest Arson In Des Moines Hot Line at (515) 223-1400. A reward fund is available to pay for qualified information.

Also, if you suspect a child of setting fires, Fire Investigators from the Des Moines Fire Department may be contacted for information regarding the department's juvenile fire-setter program. It may not be "just a phase" these children are going through.

The Des Moines Fire Department recommends the following steps that can be taken to reduce fire-setting opportunity:

• KEEP LEAVES, FIREWOOD, OVERGROWN BRUSH AND SHRUBBERY, AND OTHER COMBUSTIBLES AWAY FROM BUILDINGS. MOST ARSON FIRES ARE STARTED OUTDOORS. DON'T MAKE IT EASY FOR AN ARSONIST TO START A FIRE OR EASY FOR AN OUTDOOR FIRE TO SPREAD TO A BUILDING.
• KEEP LEAVES, FIREWOOD, OVERGROWN BRUSH AND SHRUBBERY, AND OTHER COMBUSTIBLES AWAY FROM BUILDINGS. MOST ARSON FIRES ARE STARTED OUTDOORS. DON'T MAKE IT EASY FOR AN ARSONIST TO START A FIRE OR EASY FOR AN OUTDOOR FIRE TO SPREAD TO A BUILDING.
• KEEP MATCHES AND LIGHTERS OUT OF SIGHT OF YOUR CHILDREN. IN ADDITION TO JUVENILE ARSON, FIRE PLAY BY CHILDREN TOO YOUNG TO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING CAUSES HUNDREDS OF DEATHS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF LOSS A YEAR.
• KEEP DOORS AND WINDOWS LOCKED WHEN A BUILDING IS UNOCCUPIED. IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED THAT SECURITY BARS BE PLACED ON WINDOWS AND DOORS WITH QUICK RELEASE MECHANISMS, OR OTHER SECURITY MEASURES THAT COULD TRAP YOU IN A BUILDING WITH A DEADLY FIRE.
• ILLUMINATE THE EXTERIOR AND ENTRANCES OF BUILDINGS.
• KEEP SHRUBBERY AND TREES TRIMMED SO BUILDINGS CAN BE OBSERVED BY POLICE AND NEIGHBORS.
• SECURE LADDERS, EXTERNAL STAIRWAYS AND FIRE ESCAPES FROM ALLOWING ACCESS TO ROOFTOPS.

If your business group or community group would like to have someone from the Des Moines Fire Department speak on the arson problem and what is being done, or for additional arson prevention information, contact the Des Moines Fire Department, Fire Investigation Division, at (515) 283-4960 or (515) 283-4006.

REMEMBER, FIRE STOPS WITH YOU!