[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Radnor 10-22-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-16. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The Fire Investigator and Deputy Fire Investigator shall be appointed
by the Township Manager and the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners,
under their authority as defined in the Radnor Township Code and they
shall serve until a successor is duly appointed.
B.
The Fire Investigator and Deputy Fire Investigator shall be sworn
into office at a public meeting of the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners
for the purpose of giving them official status and authority to investigate
fires.
C.
The Fire Investigator and Deputy Fire Investigator are part-time
positions that are compensated on an hourly basis at a rate determined
by the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners and shall receive no
compensation or benefits other than their hourly compensation. Out-of-pocket
expenses incurred and mileage reimbursement for the use of a personal
car while working are reimbursable.
D.
Radnor Township shall carry workers' compensation, liability,
and errors and omission coverage for the Fire Investigator and Deputy
Fire Investigator.
The Fire Investigator reports directly to the Director of Community
Development or his/her duly authorized representative.
A.
The Radnor Township Fire Investigator is responsible for investigating
the origin, cause, and circumstances of all Fire Department incidents
in the Township to which he/she responds. He/she also provides specialized
liaison at emergency scenes as requested, in cooperation with the
officer in charge from the individual responding fire companies in
whose district the incident occurs, and the Radnor Township Police
Department, and for such other duties as may, from time to time, be
assigned to him/her by the Director of the Department of Community
Development or the Radnor Township Manager. Further, he/she is responsible
for completing Fire Investigator investigation reports for incidents
that he/she has investigated and for submitting a Fire Department
monthly activity report to the Director of Community Development.
The monthly activity report contains a summary of response information
submitted to him/her by the Township Fire Companies and a listing
of responses of special interest. The Fire Investigator(s) shall be
a sworn position in Radnor Township without police powers.
B.
In the absence of the Fire Investigator, the Deputy Fire Investigator
shall act as Fire Investigator and shall have the full authority and
carry out the responsibilities of the Fire Investigator.
All issues and questions dealing with the Fire Code and any
other code used by Radnor Township and administered by the Community
Development Department shall be referred to the Fire Code Official
or designated Township representative for resolution. All issues and
questions relating to fires and other emergencies investigated by
the Fire Investigator, with the exception of requests for Fire Investigator
reports, shall be referred to the Fire Investigator or Radnor Township
Police Department, if applicable, for resolution. Fire Investigator
report requests are released by the Community Development Department
secretarial staff after approval by the Community Development Department.
The Fire Investigator is responsible for investigating the origin
and cause and circumstances of all Fire Department incidents in Radnor
Township. The Police Department will assist with the investigation
as requested by the Fire Investigator. If the Fire Investigator makes
the determination that the cause is or may be incendiary, the investigation
becomes a criminal investigation and the Police Department assumes
primary responsibility for it. At that time, the Fire Investigator
shifts to an advisory role and provides technical assistance in the
areas of origin, cause, and circumstance to the Police Department.
A.
The Fire Investigator or his/her Deputy shall be notified as soon
as possible by the police officer or fire officer in charge of an
emergency scene whenever one or more of the following circumstances
occur:
(1)
When a fire or explosion results in property damage;
(2)
When an injury or death of a citizen or emergency responder occurs
as a result of a fire or explosion;
(3)
When a police officer or fire officer in charge of the incident believes
that an investigation should take place;
(4)
When a vehicle, train or aircraft fire results in damage to a vehicle
or other property. If a damaged vehicle is not obstructing traffic
and, in the opinion of the police officer in charge of the scene,
it is reasonable to do so, the vehicle should be left at the scene
until the Fire Investigator has arrived and has a chance to investigate;
if a police officer on the scene has the vehicle(s) towed because
of safety or other concerns, the Fire Investigator shall be informed
of the vehicle's destination by the police officer in charge
of the scene. When personal injury or death occurs as a result of
the vehicle fire, the vehicle should be left at the scene until the
arrival of the Fire Investigator;
(5)
Hazardous material spills;
(6)
Bomb threats;
(7)
Any other circumstances in which a police or fire officer in charge
of an emergency scene believes appropriate.
B.
If the Fire Investigator or Deputy Fire Investigator has not arrived
at the incident scene and the responding fire department is ready
to leave the scene and return to service, the scene should be turned
over to the Radnor Township Police Department, whose officer in charge
at the scene will secure the scene until the Fire Investigator arrives.
C.
The Fire Investigator (Radnor Car 1) or the Deputy Fire Investigator
(Radnor Car 1A) should be contacted through the Delaware County Emergency
Communications Center by police or fire radio or by telephone (610-892-8404).
D.
When a building emergency exists, and assistance is required from
the Community Development Department, a Fire Code Official or Codes
Official for Radnor Township shall be notified.
A.
The Fire Investigator is empowered at the scene of a fire or other
emergency to contact Fire Code Officials when required. In consultation
with the Fire Company and Police Department officials at the scene,
they shall decide how to best secure the scene for health and safety
purposes, and to protect the integrity of the scene when further investigation
is necessary. Fire Code Officials shall determine what infrastructure
and resources may be necessary and to authorize expenditure of a reasonable
amount of Township funds.
B.
To this end, upon the request of the Fire Investigator, the commanding
police officer at the emergency scene will assign one or more police
officers to temporarily secure the area until more permanent securing
(such as fencing or boarding up) can be implemented. In addition,
whenever the Fire Investigator and Deputy Fire Investigator are unavailable
for making such a decision at an emergency scene, one of the following
Township officials should be contacted for appropriate response to
the scene and/or decision-making, in the following order:
A.
For incidents in which one of the Township Fire Companies is in charge,
information about Fire Department operations shall be released to
the news media and the public at large only by the fire officer in
charge of the incident or his/her representative.
B.
For liability and other reasons, all information concerning the origin
and cause of a fire shall be released to the news media and the public
at large only by the Fire Investigator or the Deputy Fire Investigator.
Only in their absence may such information be released by one of the
following Township officials, and only after consultation with the
Fire Investigator or Deputy Fire Investigator:
C.
For incidents at which the Radnor Township Police Department is in
charge, all information concerning the origin and cause of a fire
shall be released to the news media and the public at large only by
the Radnor Township Police Department following their protocols.
D.
Any information concerning a criminal investigation related to a
fire shall be released to the news media and the public at large only
by the Superintendent of Police, the Lieutenant or their designee.
Only in their absence may such information be released by one of the
following Radnor Township officials, and only after prior consultation
with the Superintendent of Police, Lieutenant or Township Manager.
A.
In the event that both the Fire Investigator and the Deputy Fire
Investigator are unavailable, the Fire Chief in whose district of
Radnor Township the scene is located, or his/her representative, shall
follow these procedures:
(1)
For any small fire loss to a structure, vehicle fire, or minor injury
where the cause is accidental, the Fire Chief or his/her representative
will gather required information, including information about the
property, fire, owners, and tenants, and other witnesses. If the Fire
Chief or representative is not certain of the area of origin or any
part of the ignition sequence, the fire will be classified as undetermined
and the Fire Investigator or Deputy will complete the investigation
when available. Radnor Township Police Department will assist with
initial scene interviews upon request.
(2)
Larger fire loss.
(a)
For larger fire loss to structure or major injury where the
cause appears to be accidental, the Fire Chief or representative will
gather as much of the information as possible. The Fire Investigator
or Deputy will follow up when available.
(b)
If the Fire Chief or representative is not sure that the cause
is accidental or, if the cause appears to be incendiary, they will
notify the Radnor Police Sergeant on duty and ask that a detective
be assigned to assist with initial scene interviews and other parts
of the investigation. The Fire Chiefs' role is to determine origin
and cause, if possible, and the police role is to conduct any possible
criminal investigation. If it is necessary to secure the scene, Radnor
Township Police Department will do that on their own initiative or
at the Fire Chief's request. The fire officer or police officer
in charge will notify the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Investigator
and ask that he/she respond to the scene. If the Fire Chief is not
available to assist with the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Investigator
scene investigation, Radnor Police Department should be asked to provide
a detective to serve as a liaison. In all cases, Radnor Police Department
is to be kept informed.
(c)
The Fire Investigator or Deputy Fire Investigator will follow
up when available.
