Forensic Engineering

Question: "What Is NFPA 921 and What Are Its Most Relevant Provisions for Property Adjusters?"

Discussion and Background: NFPA 921 is a Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations developed by the Technical Committee on Fire Investigations and published by the National Fire Protection Association. NFPA seeks to improve the fire investigation process and the quality of information on fires and explosions.

NFPA, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts and established in1896, is recognized as a leading advocate on fire prevention. It produces hundreds of consensus codes and public safety standards (such as NFPA 921), conducts research, training and education. Its members and participants come from a wide array of specialists and interested parties.

The NFPA 921 guide is updated every four years and can be obtained directly from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The text is widely recognized by fire investigators, experts, lawyers and courts as a standard for conducting fire investigation, even though it is not itself published as a standard.

Who is the guide intended for?

The guide is intended for use by both public sector employees and private sector persons who conduct fire investigations for litigation purposes. This means that investigators retained by insurance companies to determine the origin and cause of fires are expected to have specific knowledge of NFPA 921. Provisions of the NFPA 921 include investigation of fires in structures, vehicles, wildfires, as well as other special incidents.

How is NFPA 921 developed?

The NFPA follows guidelines of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in developing and revising NFPA 921. Initially, the NFPA will call for proposals to revise the document. The NFPA Technical Committee on Fire investigations will then meet to review, consider and act on the proposals and issue a Report on Proposals (ROP). That document is then subject to public review and comments. Comments are then reviewed and acted upon by the committee which publishes a Report on Comments (ROC) that includes the public comments and the committee’s action on each comment. During this process, the committee’s actions must be approved by simple majority vote of its members. The reports are then published and open for debate before adoption by the NFPA during its conference.

How is the NFPA 921 guideline organized?

The NFPA 921 is organized into chapters addressing different aspects of the fire investigation process. At the beginning, the guide provides definitions and a description of the basic methodology recommended for use in a fire investigation. That is followed by several chapters providing basic information about fire science, patterns left after a fire, and building systems. The guide then provides basic information about electricity and how it can lead to fires, as well as fuel gas systems in buildings. A discussion of human behavior, as it related to fires, is then provided. The NFPA 921 then goes into the process of investigating fires starting with legal considerations, safety, research, planning, documentation and physical evidence. That is followed by chapters detailing the process of determining the origin and cause of fires.

The latest edition of NFPA 921 has chapters that describe the process of analyzing a fire incident for cause, responsibility for the fire, conducting failure analysis, as well as analytical tools. These chapters are widely used in supporting opinions rendered following investigation of fires. The NFPA 921 also provides specific information about special incidents, such as explosions, incendiary fires, injury and death, vehicle fires, wild fires, and major investigations. The guide ends with explanatory material and references.

What are the most important aspects of NFPA 921 for property claim adjusters?

• The scientific method: Chapter four of the guide affirms that the scientific method should be followed and applied to fire investigations. The process involves steps that an investigator should follow to reach credible conclusions. As they manage investigations of fire losses, property adjusters who retain fire investigators are expected to have basic understanding of the process. This helps adjusters avoid situations where expert opinions are thrown out because the investigation was not conducted properly.
• Spoliation of evidence: Section 11.3.5 of the NFPA 921 defines spoliation as “…the loss, destruction or material alteration of an object or document, that is evidence or potential evidence in a legal proceeding by one who has the responsibility for its preservation”. This definition puts a level of responsibility on insurance adjusters to facilitate the preservation of evidence following a fire, since adjusters are typically the ones who have first custody of the scene following a fire. In some instances, adjusters have to balance the need for prompt response and restoration of the scene with the need to preserve the evidence and provide adequate access for all parties.
• Process of fire cause elimination: NFPA 921 recognizes the process of elimination as a credible method for determining the cause of certain fires when the area of origin is well defined, yet the physical evidence is missing. This allows property adjusters to consider all potential recovery options in certain cases where the physical evidence was consumed or could not be found. In these situations, certain conditions must be met before a conclusion about the cause of a fire can be reached.
• Cause and responsibility: Chapter 19 was introduced in the 2004 edition to provide information about determining responsibility for an incident. This addresses the accountability of a person or entity for the fire incident. Property adjusters who make final decisions about pursuing recovery options should be familiar with this provision to manage the process and ensure satisfactory outcome.
• Legal considerations: Chapter 11 includes text on legal proceedings, rules of evidence, and admissibility of expert testimony. Knowledge of these provisions by the property adjuster is critical to managing a fire investigation from the initial steps of retaining experts to the final stages of pursuing recovery options or making coverage decisions.

Answer:

NFPA 921 is a guide for fire and explosion investigations developed through a consensus committee process, to improve investigative accuracy and information obtained on fires. Its text is recognized by many parties (investigators, experts, lawyers, courts, and adjusters) as a standard for conducting investigations. Although not published itself as a standard, its tenets have been widely incorporated into standards and codes throughout the U.S. and the world.

Adjusters should pay particular attention to the NFPA 921 in several specific areas:

• Scientific method should be the basis for all fire investigations.
• Spoliation of evidence. Proper care must be exercised in preserving critical evidence following a loss.
• Process of fire cause elimination is recognized as a credible investigative method to arrive at conclusions.
• Cause and responsibility, which helps with proper subrogation pursuit.
• Legal considerations. Adjusters should recognize standard legal procedures, rules of evidence, and admissibility of expert testimony as they conduct their claim investigations.

Additional information on NFPA 921 can be found at: National Fire Protection Association (http://www.nfpa.org), National Association of Fire Investigators (http://www.nafi921.com/about.htm).