ABSTRACT
The consequences of an error in determining the cause of an accidental fire pale in comparison to the consequences of calling an accidental fire arson. Sufficient data have been accumulated to define seven general categories of fire investigation errors. A fire investigator who works in the opposite direction is far more susceptible to developing a case of "tunnel vision," in which all of the data that he sees support his initial, prematurely formed hypothesis. The fire that Weldon Wayne Carr was accused of setting in order to kill his wife was actually caused by a malfunction in a light switch. Fire investigators, particularly those working in the insurance industry, learn about "red flags" that might indicate the possibility that arson fraud has been committed to collect an insurance settlement. This chapter presents a different list of red flags that can be used to evaluate arson investigations in general.
