How do firefighters find the source of ignition for fires?
It's like any crime investigation: once the fire is out, firefighters put the hose away and put their heads together to trace the origins of the fire.
It all starts off with looking at the data, developing a hypothesis of where the fire could start by gathering evidence, and understanding how fast a fire can travel. It all depends on the fuel and wind direction that can extend the fire's path. From there, an investigator's job is to basically re-trace the path of the fire to get an estimate of where it started.
"The hard thing sometimes for an investigator is to keep your mind open because you have to consider all possibilities," said Chief Dave Ferguson with the Pasco Fire Department. "Everything from an ignited fire, something that somebody intentionally set to something that is natural."