Fire and Explosion Investigation Section Overview

The U. S. Fire Administration and its partners will use the week of May 5-11, 2013 to focus public attention on residential arson and provide communities with tools to reduce the incidence of this crime. The goal for this year’s Arson Awareness Week is to provide all residents with strategies to combat arson in their neighborhoods. Click here for local resources.

Arson Hotline: (800) 682-9229

Specially trained Massachusetts State Police detectives have functioned as State Fire Marshal investigators for more than fifty years. Over the past few years significant changes have been made to the Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit's staff, structure, working protocol, and investigative resources.

At present, the F&EIS consists of thirty-eight full time members who make up the Fire Investigations and Hazardous Devices (Bomb Squad) units. F&EIS also consists of eight bomb techs, five bomb dogs and five accelerant detector dogs. Each unit has its own self-contained command and control structure and a specific jurisdiction to serve. Many of the investigators have been cross-trained to assist the other sections in time of need.

 

Fire Investigative Teams are designated as West, Central, North and South and are deployed in those sections of the Commonwealth. By law, each fire department is responsible for determining the origin and cause of each fire or explosion in each community. The State Fire Marshal is mandated to investigate fires and explosions where local fire authorities are unable to determine the cause, where a violation of law exists, or when the fire or explosion is classified as suspicious or incendiary nature. The Fire Investigation Unit has developed a system of fire and arson investigation to work with local cities and towns when called to probe suspicious fires. Massachusetts has also been at the forefront of developing Multi-Jurisdictional Arson Task Forces for arson investigations.

The Hazardous Devices Unit has seven Certified Bomb Technicians and five certified explosive canines plus a bomb technician supervisor. These teams are deployed regionally across the state. The F&EIS has many specialized resources available to assist municipal fire and police to conduct fire or explosion investigations.

 

The office for the Fire & Explosion Investigation Section is located in the Department of Fire Services, State Road, Stow, MA 01775.

This page is maintained by the Department of Fire Services.