Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction

This textbook for the fire and law enforcement investigator, prosecutor, and fire protection professional provides a thorough understanding of fire dynamics, describing and illustrating a totally new systematic approach for reconstructing fire scenes. The approach applies the following principles of fire protection engineering along with forensic and behavioral science: identifiable fire pattern damage, human factors, physical forensic evidence of human activity, and application of the scientific method based upon relevant scientific principles and research. Using historical fire cases, the authors provide new lessons and insight into the ignition, growth, development, and outcome of those fires.

David J. Icove, Ph.D.. P.E.. An internationally recognized forensic fire engineering expert with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Icove is coauthor of Combating Arson-for-Profit, the leading textbook on the crime of economic arson. He also serves as a principal member of the NFPA 921 Technical Committee on Fire Investigations. A career law enforcement officer, Dr. Icove has experience as a criminal investigator on the federal, state, and local levels.

He presently serves as an Inspector in the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Police, Knoxville, Tennessee, and is presently assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). In addition to conducting major case investigations, Dr. Icove oversees the development of advanced fire investigation training and technology programs in cooperation with various agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency's U.S. Fire Administration.

Before transferring to the US. TVA Police, he served 9 years as a program manager in the elite behavioral science and criminal profiling units at the FBI, Quantico, Virginia. At the FBI, he implemented and became the first supervisor of the Arson and Bombing Investigative Support (ABIS) Program, staffed by FBI and ATF criminal profilers. Prior to his work at the FBI, Dr. Icove served as a criminal investigator at arson bureaus of the Knoxville Police Department, the Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office, and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office.

His expertise in forensic fire scene reconstruction is based on a blend of onscene experience, conduction of fire tests and experiments, and participation in prison interviews of convicted arsonists and bombers. He has testified as an expert witness in civil and criminal trials, as well as before U.S. Congressional Committees seeking guidance on key arson investigation and legislative initiatives.

Dr. Icove holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from The University of Tennessee. He also holds a B.S. degree in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland-College Park. He is presently Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Tennessee and Virginia.

John D. DeHaan, Ph.D., FABC, CFI, FSSDip An internationally recognized forensic science expert, Dr. DeHaan is the author of Kirk's Fire Investigation, the leading textbook in the field of fire and arson investigation. He is also a former principal member of the NFPA 921 Technical Committee on Fire Investigations.

Dr. DeHaan has been a criminalist for 33 years and has gained considerable expertise in fire and explosion evidence as well as human hair, shoe print, and instrumental analysis and crime scene reconstruction. He has been employed as a criminalist by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the California Department of Justice.

His research into forensic fire scene reconstruction is based on first-hand fire experiments on fire behavior involving over 500 observed full-scale structure, and 100 vehicle fires under controlled conditions, as well as laboratory-scale studies. Dr. DeHaan has testified as an expert witness in civil and criminal trials across the United States and' overseas.

Dr. DeHaan graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago Circle in 1969 with a B.S. degree in Physics and a minor in Criminalistics. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Pure and Applied Chemistry (Forensic Science) by Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1995. Dr. DeHaan is a Fellow, American Board of Criminalistics (Fire Debris), and holds Diplomas in Fire Investigation from the Forensic Science Society and the Institution of Fire Engineers and a Certified Fire Investigator certification from the International Association of Arson Investigators.