Arson Investigators Get Boost From Insurance Company

As arson investigators with the Rockland County Sheriff's Department examine the aftermath of more than 120 fires a year, the camera equipment they use in the process of gathering evidence takes a beating from exposure to smoke, water and other debris.

"We've have had equipment failures in the field because of smoke and water," said Detective Douglas Lerner.

To help investigators like Lerner with their work battling arson, an international insurance company, FM Global of Johnston, R.I., has awarded the Sheriff's Department a $2,500 grant to purchase new camera equipment. FM Global representative John A. Antola presented the award at the Rockland County Sheriff's Department Headquarters today in New City.

Lerner said county arson investigators are called out just about every week by local fire department officials to probe fires. While most of the fires investigated don't involve arson, Lerner said his unit treats every fire as a "crime scene" in the way possible evidence is gathered and photographed.

In some instances, Lerner said, investigators discover that a fire was not accidental, but don't have enough evidence for a criminal prosection for arson. However, in those circumstances insurance companies use information from the investigation to determine whether an insurance claim should be paid, Lerner said.

Because fire continues to be the leading cause of property damage worldwide, during the past 30 years, FM Global says it has contributed millions of dollars in fire prevention grants to fire service organizations around the globe. Antola said the company awards as many as 90 grants each quarter to fire departments—as well as national, state, regional, local and community organizations worldwide—that best demonstrate a need for funding, where dollars can have the most demonstrable impact on preventing fire, or mitigating the damage it can quickly cause.

"At FM Global, we strongly believe the majority of property damage is preventable, not inevitable," said Michael Spaziani, manager of the fire prevention grant program. "Far too often, inadequate budgets prevent those organizations working to prevent fire from being as proactive as they would like to be. With additional financial support, grant recipients are actively helping to improve property risk in the communities they serve."

Rockland Sheriff James Kralik said the new camera equipment will improve the capabilities of the arson unit, which in turn helps to prevent arson crimes.

"A successful arson unit will actually deter arson," said Kralik.

Rockland County Director of Fire and Emergency Services Gordon Wren Jr. said the Sheriff's Arson unit works well with local volunteer fire departments. He also said that the unit's work helps cut risks to the public and firefighters who are put in danger by arson fires.