NFPA 921

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NFPA 921, "Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations", is a guide published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Its stated purpose is "to establish guidelines and recommendations for the safe and systematic investigation or analysis of fire and explosion incidents" (section 1.2). While it is NOT required, either by law or by professional standards, that all fire investigations follow the guidelines of NFPA 921, many fire investigators familiarize themselves with NFPA 921 to a greater or lesser degree, and familiarity with NFPA 921 is strongly recommended for fire investigators. A fire investigator appearing in court or deposition can expect to be criticized if their work does not meet the standards of NFPA 921.

Clearly, however, not all recommendations of NFPA 921 apply to all investigations (for instance, the recommendations on investigating explosion scenes do not apply to most fire scenes), and a fire investigator may choose not to follow some recommendations if he or she decides that they are inappropriate or irrelevant to a particular case.


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