Fire Investigation Division

About Us:

The Fire Investigation Division of the Wayland Fire Department is responsible for determining the cause and origin of fires that occur in Wayland.

The Investigators in the Fire Investigation Division have undergone over 100 hours of training in basic and advanced fire investigation through the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  The training covers various areas of fire investigation such as cause and origin, interviews, forensic photography, and evidence collection and preservation.

Our Fire Investigators also work as part of Fire District 14.  The team is comprised of trained Fire Investigators from 15 of the towns within the district.  The Investigators work in conjunction with Massachusetts State Police Fire Investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

One of the benefits of a complete fire investigation is that of product safety.  When it is determined that failure of a consumer product, such as a coffee maker, caused a fire, the product is entered into a state and national database.  Many times a product is found to have a defect that causes a fire.  The manufacturer is then able to make changes to the product during assembly or through a safety recall.