A Bureau of Fire Investigation in the Fire Department is hereby established, which shall be operated under the supervision of the Chief of the Fire Department or such person as may be designated as Acting Chief of the Fire Department by the City Manager.
There shall be a head of the Bureau of Fire Investigation, who shall be a member of the Fire Department and he shall be known as the Chief Investigator. The Chief Investigator shall be appointed by the Chief of the Department. Other investigators of the Bureau of Fire Investigation who shall be members of the Fire Department shall be appointed to this position by the Chief of the Fire Department. The Chief of the Fire Department may detail other members of the Fire Department to temporary duty as investigators whenever necessary.
The Bureau of Fire Investigation shall investigate the cause, origin and circumstances of every fire occurring within the City. Such investigation shall begin immediately upon the occurrence of such fire. If the fire is believed to be of suspicious origin or causes loss of life or personal injury, an investigator shall be notified immediately. The investigator will notify the Chief of the Fire Department as soon as possible of his findings based upon the investigation of such fires. The investigator shall take charge immediately of the physical evidence, notify the proper authorities designated by law to pursue the investigation of such matters, and shall further cooperate with the appropriate authorities in the collection of evidence and in the prosecution of the case.
In addition, a written report of every fire shall be submitted to the Bureau of Fire Investigation within two days after the occurrence of same by the officer of the Fire Department company in whose jurisdiction such a fire occurs. Such report shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the Chief of the Fire Department and shall contain a statement of facts relating to the cause, origin, circumstances of such fire, injuries to persons, extent of damage and other such information as may be required on prescribed reports.
The Bureau of Fire Investigation shall be responsible for processing all incident reports in the Fire Department and forwarding them to the appropriate agencies with the exception of emergency medical reports.
(Ord. 8945. Passed 8-27-86.)