After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Understand what is meant by the term fire and the conditions that are required for fire to occur.
• Distinguish between the natures of smouldering combustion and flaming combustion and why one of these may become the other.
• Describe how fire behaves in rooms and similar compartments, and outdoors.
• Appreciate why fires are investigated.
• Explain why it is wise to approach a fire scene as if it were a crime scene until and unless it is known not to be.
• Understand the principles that allow fire scene investigations to establish the seat and cause of a fire and whether or not it was intentionally started.
• Recognise the role of laboratory chemical analysis in the investigation of suspicious fires.