Customer Reviews

Scientific Protocols for Fire Investigation (Protocols in Forensic Science)

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Book Review

Scientific Protocols for FIRE INVESTIGATION

By John J. Lentini, CFEI
Published by CRC Press, 2006

604 pages, full-color photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, $139.95

Every fire investigator, fire analyst, consulting expert, and civil and criminal fire litigation attorney should read this book - in the future the penalty for not doing so may well be to be forced to "eat" its contents in a court room. "Did you want fries with that?" NAFI's position has always been that: "The fire litigation courtroom is no place for amateurs." This new book tends to prove that adage and affirm that philosophy.

The book has ten chapters, divided into three general areas of information: Chapters 1-3 cover the basics of fire science; Chapters 4-7 deal with fire investigation methodology and technology; and Chapters 8-10 cover what should be the philosophy of proper fire investigation.

Overall the fully NFPA 921 compliant book is not so much an elementary textbook on how to do fire investigations as it is a primer on how to do them correctly and how to draw accurate, provable conclusions.

The four page introduction is an important read in and of itself. Setting the tone for the rest of the book, the introduction provides an insightful view into what should be the appropriate point of view of a modern, professional fire investigator.

Perhaps the most important and unique aspect of the book is this point of view. Without regard for the feelings of the incompetent, Lentini's text highlights and holds up to scrutiny the frequent errors in fire investigation science, technology, and methodology rampant in fire investigation today and in the past. Without apology, Lentini holds no truck with those who have abrogated their responsibility for accurate, scientifically correct, fire investigation science and technique. This is undoubtedly the most important, if not-too-subtle, value of this work.

To be honest to the reader, I must admit that the author, John Lentini, is a friend, colleague, and even occasional litigation adversary. Not withstanding our friendship, John is among the most articulate, erudite, and confident authors and speakers in our profession. He is also, quite frequently and to his credit, brutally honest, without unwarranted sentimental regard for the ill-trained, untrained, unread, or incompetent. His new book surely reflects that point of view.

Even beyond its content, this is one of the finest and most expensively produced fire investigation texts ever. Full color photographs, illustrations, and diagrams have long been needed in a fire investigation text, but have been, up until now, too expensive to produce and sell. It is only during the recent revolution in fire investigation, from "art" to "science;" that the professional fire investigation community has thought enough of itself as a true profession to accept the cost of such a well produced text.

Patrick M. Kennedy, CFEI, CFPS, MIFireE
Principal Expert
Fire and Explosion Analyst
John A. Kennedy and Associates

Chairman,
National Association of Fire investigators

Book Review:
Scientific Protocols for Fire Investigation
by John J. Lentini

Mr. Lentini has produced a book on fire investigations. So, why purchase and read another book on this subject, it has been covered in several texts before. The book should be read to educate the reader [presumably a fire investigator] on the significance of their work. Fire investigations impact people's lives. Aside from the lofty goal of making accurate determinations of causes of fires thereby helping to prevent a repeat of the fire, determinations of the fire cause can impact a person's financial wellbeing for the remainder of their life, affect a person's personal freedom, and in the extreme instance, determine if a person lives or dies. Yet, as Mr. Lentini so notes, a fire investigator is one of the few forensic professions where no scientific education or training is required to offer opinions on complex scientific phenomena. To this reviewer, Mr. Lentini is the first published author to stress the need for improvement in the professional standards for fire investigators.

Mr. Lentini starts out with the basics in the first six chapters. He includes discussions on fire science, chemistry and physics of combustion, fire dynamics and investigative procedures. Given Mr. Lentini's expertise in chemistry, he spends an entire chapter on chemical analyses and ignitable liquid residue aspects of fire investigation. Recognizing the audience for that chapter is limited, he encourages the unrelated reader to "skip over" all but the introduction to this chapter. He also devotes a chapter to ignition sources, possibly the most significant factor in any fire cause determination. Without the investigator being able to adequately address how devices work and fail, the tendency becomes to dismiss the energy sources in residences as not having caused the fire. This lack of consideration of devices that can become ignition sources is the most likely explanation for why fire investigators rely on the "Negative Corpus" determination.

Mr. Lentini devotes the remainder of his book to developing his arguments for recognizing the significance of the fire investigator's work. He gives thirty examples of how or how not to investigate a fire. From that foundation, he moves into the mythology of arson investigation and an excellent discussion on sources of error in fire investigations. The sources of error chapter [my personal favorite] may possibly be the reader's first realization that there truly is an error factor in fire investigations that must be addressed. He finishes up with a chapter on the professional-practice aspect of the profession, including quality assurance programs, consistency in one's work, and expert witness testimony. Although quality assurance programs may never get implemented in many fire investigation offices [both public and private], his discussion sets out for the reader a typical plan that is clear and not overly burdened with jargon.

Throughout the book, Mr. Lentini adds superb artwork including full color photographs, clear and in some cases color charts, graphs and illustrations. He also inserts his "Sidebar" discussions, examples and opportunities to discuss aspects of the chapter that illustrate or explain a concept in a little different light. His choice to push his publisher to make all photographs be in color was unusual, but by doing so he has made his text stand out from the crowd with its artwork.

If someone is just starting out as a fire investigator, other texts may do a better job of discussing the basic aspects of the profession. But, Mr. Lentini's philosophical approach on the responsibility of the fire investigator to conduct a thorough, scientific investigation is an excellent primer for a fire investigator to begin his career. Likewise, those career investigators that have been around a long time can benefit by the much needed reminder of the importance of their work.

In spite of the cost, I purchased Mr. Lentini's book as soon as it was generally available and read it cover to cover upon receipt. Knowing Mr. Lentini by name and fame only, I was anxious to see if his words could live up to his reputation as an investigator and educator. There was no disappointment.

The color photographs and diagrams he used are excellent and certainly clear up points that are not readily visible in black and white and lesser quality print books; something every fire investigator needs for reference. Words alone often do not suffice and, short of seeing the actual scene along with Mr. Lentini, these photographs are the top of the line for showing proper understanding of a fire, its origin and cause.

The textual content is surpassed by none for the fire investigator. Not satisfied just to point out "old wives tales" that have plagued fire investigation for so long, Mr. Lentini leads the reader to the latest and most correct school of thought and uses actual case studies to clarify his reasoning. While there are other books out there that "teach" fire investigation, SCIENTIFIC PROTOCOLS FOR FIRE INVESTIGATION leads one incontrovertibly and irreversibly down the line that must be followed by all fire investigators.

From the basic understandings, through the proper methodology, culminating with the professional philosophy of a true fire investigator, Mr. Lentini has left no room for shoddy workmanship at the fire scene. His book is one of the few that are a must have in the fire investigator's library. It is the only fire investigation book that I have ever bought as a gift and that was for a good friend in Iowa.

On second thought, the book is very inexpensive for what it offers.........

Michael E. Carlson, Jr., CFI, CFEI, CVFI, CPP, CATI
President
Probe, Inc. Fire and Explosion Investigations
Skokie, Il 60077

I purchased Mr. Lentini's book as soon as it was released.

The color photographs and diagrams are excellent. The book is laid out in an easy to understand straight to the point format.

The book guides you through a proper investigation while using a scientific method.

I include this book in my suggested reading list for the classes that I teach.

If you would like to add another great text book to your library then this would be the one.

Steve Riggs, PATC

Excellent book. John has done the fire investigation community an outstanding service by writing this book.
The sections debunking "arson indicators" are noteworthy, as are the excellent fire cause examples and the great pictures. If you don't have this book go out and buy one.

John Morse, PE

Highly Recommend. Most of the book reads easy and is very informative. Some of the information on lab testing gets a little dry if you are not a lab person, but there is plenty in the book for lab people and on scene investigators.

The higher cost of this book is due to the cost of publishing a book with color photos, which really adds to the quality of the book and the learning experience. Its worth every penny ! I was fortunate to be able to recently attend a 2 1/2 day training seminar where John went through this book page by page and gave us his insight on fire science, fire chemistry, fire behavior, lab analysis, arson myths, ignition sources, case studies, and professionalism. I have to admit I've been doing fire investigations for almost 40 years and the old myths covered in his book are all true. In the 1970 and 80's I was trained on every one of them. For many years I didn't appreciate John's work. Fortunately, thanks to John and others, I was able to make the transistion to using the scientific method. I now appreciate John's work and this book is my favorite book in my fire investigation library. Buy it ! Read it ! Live it ! You'll be a better fire investigator !

This book is printed on high quality coated stock and is full of excellent colour photos. I found the price of the book to be abnormally high, but the book is of excellent quality. Many different fires are analysed and some had causes I would never have thought would cause a fire. Clear explanations and charts and graphs add to the book. No major fires (i.e. MGM Grand, Meridian Plaza, Beverly Hills Night Club, The Station Night Club, etc.) are included but it is an informative book nonetheless. As I am not a fire investigator, I would have appreciated a more clear explanation of what is shown in some photos as, to the non-expert, some photos show piles of blackened debris and it is hard to see the actual revealing details in the debris that are explained in the book. The book was very useful to me in revealing things that I should check around my own home to make my fire prevention routine even more complete.

It's about time that a textbook like this was introduced into the world of fire investigation.

Book Review

Scientific Protocols for FIRE INVESTIGATION

By John J. Lentini, CFEI
Published by CRC Press, 2006

604 pages, full-color photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, $139.95.

This publication is a MUST HAVE and MUST READ for all memebers of the fire investigation community. The document clearly outlines all aspects of the craft in simplistic terms.

I recommend that you buy it and study it. The publication is such that both the rookie and the seasoned fire investigation will learn and learn and learn.

Dennis J. Merkley CFEI, CFII, CVFI
Senior Consultant - Fire and Explosion Analyst
Fire Facts Incorporated
Toronto, Canada