CFM Incident Investigation & Analysis 5

Question 1

NFPA 921 lists four fire cause classifications. Which of these is NOT one of them?

Accepted Answer

Suspicious

Answer

The four classifications are accidental, natural, incendiary, and undetermined; 'suspicious' is not an accepted classification.

Question 2

Why does NFPA 921 not accept 'negative corpus' as a basis for an incendiary determination?

Accepted Answer

It names a cause without evidence supporting it, based only on ruling out other causes

Answer

Negative corpus calls a fire incendiary just because accidental causes were eliminated, with no positive evidence of an ignition source.

Question 3

Which professional qualifications standard covers fire investigators?

Accepted Answer

NFPA 1033

Answer

NFPA 1033 sets the job performance requirements for fire investigators, including the topics they must know.

Question 4

Which U.S. Supreme Court case extended the Daubert reliability standard to all expert testimony, including fire investigators?

Accepted Answer

Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael

Answer

Kumho Tire (1999) applied Daubert's gatekeeping test to technical and experience-based expert testimony.

Question 5

Multiple separate, unconnected fires found at a scene usually point to:

Accepted Answer

A possible incendiary fire, after ruling out fall-down, drop-down, and spread through hidden voids

Answer

Unrelated separate origins can point to an incendiary fire, but only after legitimate ways fire spreads have been ruled out.

CFM - Certified Fire Marshal Practice Test