Resume
Investigating the Causes of Fires – Intentionally Started Fires
mjr. PhDr. Mgr. Miroslav Matouš, Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, PhD student
The theme of this work is to briefly describe essential technical disciplines in the field of fire protection – particularly identifying the causes of fires. This is performed under the responsibility of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic through its members – investigators of fires and in cooperation with members of the Police of the Czech Republic. This is a specific activity, whose main goal is to objectively determine the causes of fires. One of the investigative scenarios is intentionally started fires initiated by offenders/arsonists with different motives and goals. The task of investigators is to detect this intentional criminal activity, using proven principles and actions or modern methods in a timely manner and prepare documents for law enforcement authorities. The danger of their actions lies mainly in intentional fault in combination with a direct threat to human lives or high property damage. This is a wide-ranging topic with an overlap into several other scientific disciplines, especially criminology, psychology, or technical, physical or chemical fields.
Keywords: Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, crime scene, motive, fire protection, mental disorder, collate and provide evidence, arson report forms, deliberate arson, investigation the causes of fires, criminal offences, offender.