by Ed Comeau

Reprinted with permission from NFPA Journal(r), (May/June Vol. 92, No. 3) Copyright (c)1998, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA 02269

Any fire investigation, no matter how small, requires a range of skills and disciplines. A smaller incident may be investigated by a few people from the local fire department or state fire marshal's office. If an incident is of such catastrophic proportions that an investigation would exceed the abilities of the local authority, however, there's a resource to call upon: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (ATF) National Response Team (NRT).

There are four NRTs distributed across the country made up of agents from throughout ATF. By bringing together a team of specialists to work on an incident, it's possible to "blitz" the incident with resources in a very short time--which is critical when conducting a fire investigation. Until proven otherwise, every fire scene is treated as a crime scene. If a crime has been committed, it's critical to gather the necessary evidence and try to apprehend the guilty party. Unless the site is secured, evidence may be lost or destroyed quickly, and witnesses' recollections can become distorted, or even fade, with time. Applying the wide range of resources available through an NRT, the local fire department has the opportunity to process a scene quickly but thoroughly.

At the request of the local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), ATF will mobilize at least 15 NRT members and provide the local incident commanders with extensive support in determining the cause and origin of a fire or explosion. Even though ATF is a law enforcement organization, the goal of the NRT investigation isn't always to determine criminal intent. While a number of NRT investigations have resulted in arson prosecutions, the outcomes of others have determined that the fires weren't incendiary.

History of the NRTs
The first two NRTs were established in 1978 after the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 granted ATF the authority to investigate and prosecute incidents involving explosive devices. While the act originally limited the scope of the NRTs' investigations to explosions, Special Agent Ed Garrison notes that "enterprising ATF agents managed to prosecute a case where the defendants used gasoline to burn a commercial building.The theory was that gasoline, when combined with air, met the definition of an explosive and thus qualified as a crime."

Realizing that it couldn't effectively respond within 24 hours of an incident using only two teams, ATF established two more NRTs in 1980. The four teams are located in the Midwest, the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Western regions of the United States. In 1982, Congress expanded ATF's jurisdiction to include incidents involving fires as well as explosives through the Glenn Amendment, introduced by Senator John Glenn of Ohio.

Since 1978, NRTs have been activated 392 times to conduct investigations involving 492 deaths, 2,465 injuries, and property damage estimated in the billions of dollars. Among the NRTs' investigations are the World Trade Center bombing in New York City in 1993, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the TWA 800 crash off Long Island in 1996, and the Olympic bombing in Atlanta in 1996.

Other investigations have included a warehouse fire in New Orleans that destroyed a 1-million-square-foot building; a fire in Seattle, Washington, that killed four firefighters; an apartment building fire in Bremerton, Washington, that killed four residents; and a bourbon distillery fire in Kentucky that resulted in more than $5 million in damage.

Responses reached an all-time high in 1997 when the NRTs were activated 39 times. They were deployed 22 times in 1996, and 19 times in 1995. In the first three months of 1998, the NRT had already been activated five times.

Structure of the NRT
Each NRT regional team involves 30 ATF agents and specialists, and each is self-sufficient in terms of skills and disciplines. An average NRT response will include 15 agents and specialists cross-trained in several of these disciplines. Team members include a team leader, who's responsible for coordinating the NRT's operations with local officials, and a team supervisor, who manages the team, determining the team members' assignments and ensuring that they have the necessary tools and equipment to perform their jobs. Each team also has at least one certified fire investigator (CFI), responsible for determining the origin and cause of the fire; an explosives enforcement officer (EEO), responsible for evaluating any explosive devices or remains found on the scene; and a fire protection engineer (FPE), a relatively new addition to the team. An FPE is invaluable in evaluating a building's design features, determining the role of suppression systems in a fire, and analyzing fire spread through computer modeling.

The team also includes a photographer to thoroughly document the scene. The scene is also documented with schematics of the structure and its contents, the locations of the victims, and evidence.

A forensic chemist, a canine accelerant handler, and an evidence technician are also part of an NRT. The forensic chemist is responsible for gathering evidence that will be sent for further analysis to a local or state forensics laboratory or to one of ATF's labs in Rockville, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; or San Francisco, California. The canine handler uses dogs to determine whether accelerants were used. ATF has roughly 45 dogs paired with state or local authorities throughout the United States. The evidence technician coordinates the collection of evidence, keeps the evidence logs, and maintains the evidence chain of custody until it's turned over to the local law enforcement agency.

There are several specialties that only qualified personnel can fill, but many NRT members are cross-trained in a variety of disciplines and can fill different positions at an incident. This versatility allows for a much stronger, integrated team approach.

Training NRT members
NRT training is extremely varied because of the unusual conditions team members encounter during incidents.

"One year, the entire team was trained to use Bobcats(tm) for debris removal," says Special Agent Jack Malooly, who's been with the NRT program since 1980 and is both a CFI and an EEO. According to Malooly, it's often necessary to use these small front-end loaders and, since a fire scene is a potential crime scene, ATF wanted to reduce the number of civilians in such areas.

Other training programs have included how to operate oxyacetylene torches, as well as teaching sessions by a pathologist. The recent addition of surveying equipment on response trucks calls for still more specialized training.

"This equipment allows us to locate and map, very accurately, the layout of a building and the location of evidence in relation to the building," says Malooly.

The team leaders and team supervisors have also been sent to advanced EPA hazardous materials schools, and this year's training program included topics such as evidence spoliation, critical incident management, court testimony, case studies, and interviewing--all in addition to the normal training required annually. Equipment on the NRT

To support the NRTs, ATF has 38 vehicles distributed across the United States that are essentially rolling fire investigation toolboxes. Each vehicle's equipment ranges from pop-up shelters to latex gloves. Because digging out a fire scene and collecting evidence is manual labor, each truck carries a collection of shovels, saws, brooms, and other tools.

The trucks also carry a variety of personal protective equipment, including helmets, gloves, turnout clothing, respirators, and splash suits. As part of scene safety, teams implement an accountability system using name tags for each agent.

Among the equipment used to document a fire scene are 35-mm cameras, video cameras, drafting equipment, and tape recorders. The trucks also carry a fax machine and a copier, as well as reference books, such as NFPA's Fire Protection Handbook and the Fire Protection Guide to Hazardous Materials. In the truck are areas in which witnesses can be interviewed, videotapes watched and copied, and equipment repaired.

ATF brings technology to the fire scene by using electronic surveying equipment, which allows investigators to map a building and the locations of debris and evidence much more accurately than they could using a tape measure. Other high-tech applications include computer models to help recreate fire scenes. All CFIs are also provided with rugged, military versions of laptop computers to use during investigations.

To help identify critical areas of a building, NRTs use global positioning systems. By identifying the longitude and latitude of a building, says Malooly, agents can get information about potential lightning strikes from the National Weather Service.

Evidence contamination is a big concern at any fire scene. To avoid cross-contamination of evidence, tools are thoroughly washed after every use and when they're being used in different areas. And wash lines are set up so everyone entering and leaving the fire scene can clean their footwear.

The trucks also carry power tools such as saws and drills.To avoid introducing any gasoline to the fire scene that might be mistaken for an accelerant, however, these tools are electrically powered by a generator on the truck.

Activating an NRT
When NRTs were first formed, the threshold for activation was property damage over a million dollars or significant loss of life or injury. However, this has been changed over the years to allow for more latitude in determining when an NRT is needed. A team can now be called in when the resources needed to investigate an incident exceed those available locally.

According to Mike Bouchard, chief of ATF's Arson and Explosives Branch, getting in touch with the local ATF special agent in charge (SAC) is the first step in activating an NRT. The local fire department or law enforcement agency asks the SAC to look into its problem, and the SAC sends a representative to evaluate the incident. If they feel that an NRT callout is required, ATF headquarters in Washington is notified. The team leader for the NRT in that area is then notified and assembles the team from the agents available in the region. These agents are usually drawn from those assigned to the region's team, but agents from across the country can be called upon to fill out the response.

The objective is to assemble the team and be on the scene within 24 hours of activation. The local ATF office plays a pivotal role in the initial stages of an incident by providing agents to help secure the scene, to identify potential witnesses to be interviewed, and to make logistical arrangements, such as lodging and transportation. Local ATF agents continue to assist throughout the investigation in a variety of roles. When the NRT arrives on the scene, the team leader and the team supervisor get an initial briefing from local fire and police officials. The function of the NRT is to support the local efforts.

"ATF doesn't come in and 'take over' an incident from the local incident commander," according to Bouchard. "Our goal is to work with the local authorities."

Throughout the course of the on-scene investigation, briefings are held twice a day, once in the morning before work starts to outline the objectives for the day, and again at the end of the day to summarize the findings and correlate all of the information obtained. These briefings are critical to a smooth operation, since information is gathered from so many different sources. Information provided by a witness, for example, can be critical in determining the direction that the on-scene digging may take.

The NRT has two major functions: interviewing and scene documentation and reconstruction. Both are critical in recreating the sequence of events surrounding a fire or explosion.

Interviews help the NRT identify potential witnesses who can help determine cause and origin. An agent is placed in charge of coordinating all the interviews, and a center is established to manage the activities of the interview teams and to correlate the information they obtain. Whenever possible, ATF agents and local law enforcement or fire officials conduct the interviews together.

Information from the interviews is collected in a centralized computer database called ASCMe, which stands for "advanced serial case management." This system correlates the data gathered from the myriad interviews and helps determine either common factors in, or discrepancies between, people's accounts. Scene documentation is an arduous and time-consuming process in which all of the phases of debris removal and evidence collection are painstakingly recorded. Removing debris can be as simple as shoveling wreckage into wheelbarrows, or it may involve the use of Bobcats or heavy equipment.

Scene documentation can be physically demanding. One of Special Agent Lynne DeMent's more memorable experiences occurred one July at a hazardous materials scene in Houston, Texas, where all of the investigators spent the week wearing SCBAs in 95øF weather.

"What a week that was," says DeMent.

When an investigation is completed, the ATF agents and the local officials meet to determine the next course of action based on the evidence uncovered. If a criminal prosecution is warranted, the local district attorney and the local U.S. attorney become involved to decide whether the case will be tried locally or on the federal level. At this point, all the information and evidence gathered during the investigation is turned over to the local ATF office and the local authority.

On average, an NRT is on the scene for three to four days, at a cost of about $15,000, all at no cost to the local jurisdictions.

Chief Superintendent Warren McDaniels of the New Orleans Fire Department has used NRTs four times since 1991. When asked to describe how they operated, his immediate response was "highly professionally." Chief Al Duke of the Bremerton, Washington, Fire Department echoes McDaniels' sentiments. He recently asked the NRT to assist at a large apartment complex fire in which four residents died.

"The ATF brings resources to bear on an incident that are simply not available within our department," Duke says. "We would have been there three weeks trying to dig out the scene." Both chiefs emphasized how careful the ATF is to avoid the appearance of taking over an incident. At all times, the NRT team leader made sure that the team worked under the chief's direction.

As part of the federal Government Performance Review Act (GPRA), government agencies are now required to ensure that they're responding to the needs of the people they serve. To this end, ATF conducts a follow-up survey with the AHJ after an incident is over. Bouchard notes that most surveys come back indicating overwhelming satisfaction with the level of service provided.

International Response Team
Recently, the concept of the NRT was expanded to the international arena through an International Response Team (IRT).

"The IRT is activated at the request of the Department of State for any fire or explosion in the world against U.S. interests," says Bouchard. A formal agreement between ATF and the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service was initially designed to support the Diplomatic Security Service's own investigations, but it has since been expanded to provide "technical/forensic assistance and oversight to foreign governments on foreign territory."

The IRT has responded to 13 incidents throughout the world, including vehicle bombings, embassy attacks, and assassinations in countries such as Peru, Argentina, El Salvador, Ecuador, Pakistan, Grenada, Korea, Macedonia, and Surinam. A typical IRT response is composed of at least two people--a supervisory agent and a CFI or EEO, depending upon the nature of the incident.

As the use of NRTs expands, their effectiveness improves. Faster response times, improved training and equipment, expanded staffing, and more expertise in the field are creating a valuable federal resource.

Ed Comeau is the former NFPA Chief Fire Investigator and a former Fire Protection Engineer with the Phoenix Fire Department. Currently he is the owner of Campus Fire Safety, a consulting firm.

Note: Emergency Film Group has produced Investigation, a 4-part series on investigation that is designed for emergency personnel who may conduct investigations as a part of their job.