ENFSI Best Practice Manual
Definition
The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes Fire and Explosions Investigation Working Group guidance document for fire and explosion investigation across European jurisdictions, with motive-classification provisions aligned with European legal traditions.
- Publisher
- ENFSI Fire and Explosions Investigation Working Group
- Scope
- Fire and explosion scene investigation
- Coverage
- Multiple European jurisdictions
- Distinct feature
- Motive-classification aligned with European legal traditions
Common questions
How does this manual's motive classification differ from the US NFPA 921 framework?+
It is built around European legal categories and procedural traditions rather than the US-centric taxonomy in NFPA 921, so an examiner working across both systems needs to map terminology carefully rather than assume the classifications are interchangeable.
Is the manual binding on courts, or only on laboratories?+
It is a professional best-practice guideline for accredited laboratories, not legislation, so a court can still admit expert evidence that departs from it if the examiner justifies the departure, though deviation without justification can be challenged.
Related terms
- Arson Motive Classification
- The systematic categorisation of the reasons an arsonist sets a fire, most commonly using the FBI Crime Classification Manual six-category framework: vandalism,...
- Children's Firesetting Interview (CFI)
- A structured clinician-administered assessment instrument developed by David Kolko at the University of Pittsburgh to evaluate fire history, fire knowledge, curiosity about...
- FBI Crime Classification Manual (CCM)
- A reference manual published by the FBI Behavioral Science Unit classifying crimes including arson by motive and offender behaviour pattern; the standard...
- Firesetting Risk Interview (FRI)
- A companion parent-report instrument developed alongside the Kolko CFI that provides a structured parental account of the child's fire-setting behaviour, enabling cross-validation...
- Geographic Profiling
- A spatial analysis technique originally developed by Kim Rossmo that predicts the likely home or anchor point of a serial offender from...
- Hero Arsonist
- An excitement-motivated arsonist who is also a first responder (firefighter, emergency medical technician) who sets fires to create opportunities to demonstrate competence...
- Organised vs Disorganised Fire-Setting
- A FBI CCM behavioural axis: an organised fire-setter prepares in advance, uses purposeful ignition devices, and selects the ignition point deliberately; a...
- Pyromania
- A DSM-5 impulse-control disorder characterised by deliberate and purposeful fire-setting on multiple occasions, with tension or affective arousal before the act and...
- Serial Arson
- Typically defined as three or more separate fire-setting incidents at different locations and times by the same offender, with a cooling-off period...