Expert Solutions
Fire Investigation services

The Forensic Science Service Fire Investigation Unit has spent more than 30 years at the forefront of uncovering the causes and often the culprits behind fires.

The team is the only dedicated Fire Investigation Unit to provide a complete service from the scene of the blaze through to intricate forensic analysis of the evidence left behind.

Our team can attend the scene of a blaze to help determine the origin of a fire and gather and interpret evidence. Demand has seen the team grow to be the only such group able to provide that extra dimension of forensic analysis of the findings – that vital link that can tie a suspect to the scene of crime.

The complete service, from the ashes through to the laboratory, enables Forensic Science Service experts to collect and advise on the evidence left behind and extract DNA profiles from the residue and help point the finger at the perpetrator.

Forensic analysis can make the difference between life and death if the offender is a habitual arsonist.’
The Forensic Science Service pioneered the introduction of Isomark, a technique to remove smoke from evidence to enable fingerprints to be revealed.

The Fire Investigation Unit provides training to other organisations to help expand knowledge of this highly specialised field. The Lambeth-based team provides round-the-clock call out and attends around 300 fires and gas or vapour explosions a year in London and the Home Counties alone. Similar experts operate out of the Forensic Science Service’s other main labs across the country.