Forensic facilities present a wide range of fire prevention and protection challenges because of the services they provide and the support spaces inside the facility. The storage of evidence and reference material, protection of scientific equipment, handling and storing flammable chemicals within the laboratories, and providing safe egress for the building occupants are among the vital fire issues that must be considered

Every forensic facility should have a comprehensive fire prevention and protection plan. This plan is designed to protect the building occupants, preserve equipment and property, and assist emergency response teams. In addition to the plan, providing proper fire safety involves good laboratory practices, appropriately designed storage facilities, adequate first response devices, smart ventilation control strategies, and efficient emergency response plans. All of these pieces must be in place for an effective prevention and protection program to exist and respond when needed.

In this article, we will examine the unique forensic fire challenges within various spaces and the operating systems that should be in place.

Spaces
The department for controlled substances is the largest user of flammable chemicals. Good laboratory practice within this area requires an adequate number of chemical fume hoods for staff with flammable storage cabinets located at or in close proximity to fume hoods where these chemicals are being used. If this laboratory will be dealing with clan lab materials, the lab should be located adjacent to the building exterior so that large quantities of chemicals are not brought deep into the facility.

Latent print processing and collection presents a few fire concerns. One area that requires special attention is the use of ninhydrin (a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant). Ninhydrin is very flammable when vaporized. Any activities where it is involved should be conducted in a super glue cabinet designed to handle the vapor and exhaust it when processing of the evidence is complete. DFO and Petroleum Ether must be used in a fume hood because both have a very low flash point and are considered highly flammable without an effectively ventilated device. Another common chemical used to develop latent prints is silver nitrate, which is an oxidizing agent that should not be stored in the same cabinet as flammable agents.

A large instrument room may house many pieces of major scientific equipment valued at millions of dollars. The challenge is two-fold:

• Prevent accidental discharge of water from the suppression system
• Suppress a fire if one does occur

Evidence and property storage areas vary from small closets to large warehousing facilities. Each individual facility presents different fire prevention and protection challenges. The most fundamental step when developing your fire protection and prevention plan is to decide what size investment is prudent to preserve evidence from water damage.

Property storage areas are often large warehousing operations that house a wide variety of materials on racks and shelving systems. These spaces are faced with different suppression challenges and may require higher density sprinklers and in-rack sprinkler systems. Since the volume of these spaces is so large, the use of chemical or gaseous suppression systems is generally not feasible.

Alone, vehicle exam bays do not present distinct fire protection challenges unless a pit is used for under vehicle access. De-fueling vehicles and inspecting them for explosives or other flammable cargo is clearly a significant part of the investigatory process. Protocols like these have the greatest impact on fire prevention. There are limited amounts of explosive materials inherent in firearms examination and testing. The location of sprinklers in the firing range must be sufficiently detailed to prevent damage from a stray bullet.