What
We Do
Fire
Investigations
The
City of Madison Fire Department Fire/Arson Investigation Division
has three full-time Fire/Arson Investigators who respond to
investigate the origin, cause, and circumstances surrounding fires
and explosions in the City of Madison, as mandated by WI § 165.11
(1) and Madison General Ordinance 6.16.
Each
member of the Fire/Arson Investigation Division is a highly-skilled,
aggressive investigator who actively pursues people who engage in
starting fires and identifies products that have caused fires with
the goal of preventing injuries and property damage.
Each
member of the MFD Fire/Arson Investigation Division rotates on-call
responsibilities, which provides daily coverage to respond to
requests from Chiefs and Company Fire Officers while on location.
Fire/Arson
investigation is a complicated endeavor that requires a coordinated
effort between the Madison Fire Department and the Madison Police
Department. This
cooperative agreement started in 1976 with the creation of the joint
Fire/Police Fire/Arson Investigation Team, which has improved our
fire investigation, arson detection, and arson investigation
capabilities. Currently,
the Madison Police Department has one Lieutenant/Detective, eight
Detectives, and three Special Investigators, all of whom receive
additional training in determining the origin, cause, and
circumstances surrounding fires and explosions.
These members are called upon to help the MFD Fire/Arson
Investigator when circumstances surrounding a fire or explosion
require additional assistance.
MFD
also has a close working relationship with the Dane County District
Attorney’s Office, the Dane County Coroner’s Office, the
Wisconsin Department of Justice - Division of Criminal
Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives, and other local law enforcement and fire departments
within Dane County.
All
three MFD Fire/Arson Investigators are members of the Wisconsin
Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators, the
International Chapter of the IAAI, and the Dane County Arson
Response Initiative (DCARI).
The
members of the Madison Fire Department Fire/Arson Investigation Unit
are:
Pre-employment
Background Investigations
City
of Madison Fire / Arson Investigators conduct pre-employment
background investigations for all new prospective members of the
department. A
comprehensive background investigation takes an estimated 10 - 15
hours per applicant due to the thorough civil and criminal review.
Fire
Report Requests
The
Supervisor of the Fire / Arson Investigation Division is the
custodian of records for all fire incident reports.
Reports prepared by Company Fire Officers and Fire / Arson
Investigators are reviewed in preparation for release. There
are circumstances where fire reports are not releasable due any of
the following criteria:
-
Pending
Criminal Prosecution
-
Active
Investigation
-
Sensitive
nature of the Investigation
-
Juvenile
record
-
Other
records involving issues of privacy and reputation, as
determined by application of the balancing test
-
Information
that may disclose investigative techniques
-
Identifying
confidential informant information
A
report may be released, however, you may receive a redacted copy due
to a juveniles name or medical information which is contained within
the report(s).
A
fire report request from the Madison Fire Department can be
initiated by contacting the Madison Fire Department – Records Section at
608-266-1162 or by the Madison Fire Department website
(Fire Report
Request).
Please
include the following information to ensure the scope
of the request is understood and clear enough for personnel to
determine if we have the record(s) you are requesting:
Date of Incident
Address of Incident
Incident Number
Contact information (Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone
Number(s)
Responding
to a Fire Report Request
Madison
Government Ordinance (MGO)
3.70(6)(a) states: The
fulfillment of public records requests is a high priority for the
City. Therefore, each custodian, upon request for any record, shall,
as soon as practicable and without delay, either fill the request or
notify the requester of her/his determination to deny the request in
whole or in part and the reasons therefore. If a request may take
more than ten (10) business days to process, then the custodian must
respond to the requestor within those ten days with an estimate of
when such processing shall be completed and an explanation of the
reasons supporting that estimate.
Reproduction
Fees
Madison
Government Ordinance (MGO)
3.70(4)(b) outlines
reproduction fees which are billed at the following rates:
Black & White
$0.25 per side
Color
$1.00 per side
CD/DVD*
$1.00 per unit.
* Additional
charges may apply for staff time
[Return
to Top] |
