ABSTRACT
Competent, professionally involved investigators reflect well on their agency, and a responsible agency will support the continuous professional development of its employees. When designing a set of guidelines for a professional practice, it is useful to identify the stakeholders. The fire investigation profession has a stake in each investigator's individual practice. The basic rule in business practices is to treat other people the way one would like to be treated in a business relationship. Every major manufacturer of products or provider of services has an interest in supplying consistent quality, and fire investigators are no different. The concept of the quality triangle in the forensic sciences was first presented in the early 1990s. The subcommittees' mandate is to recognize and help develop standards for all of the forensic science disciplines. The State of Texas Fire Marshal's Office acquired a certain infamy in 2010 when the Texas Forensic Science Commission examined two famous arson/homicide cases, known as Willis and Willingham.
