TOLEDO, Ohio — 'Investigators are on scene.' – This is a phrase we often hear as journalists at most of the structure fires we report on. But who are these "investigators" and what do they have to do to get that title?
WTOL 11 took a look into the Toledo Fire Investigation Unit. All of the members of this unit went through and graduated from both the Toledo Fire & Rescue Academy and the Toledo Police Academy. Currently, one Toledo firefighter is going through the police academy to join the unit. If he passes, he will graduate in roughly six months.
"We are detectives. We are sworn police officers," said Lieutenant James Trevino, in charge of the TFIU. "Anywhere our investigation leads, we can potentially file charges."
Currently, the unit has six investigators: two originally from the police department and four originally from the fire department. They're primary objective is to find out the origin of a fire but they do a lot more than just that. On average, the unit investigates around 300 fires a year. That's about 50 - 60 fires per investigator.
"We're pretty much the technical expert," said Trevino. "So we take our own photos. We're our own crime scene investigator. We're dusting for prints. We're swabbing for DNA. On the police side, the scientific investigation unit does that for shootings and murders and things like that."
Trevino also said although the academies are different, they are both tough in their own ways.
"I believe the fire academy is a little bit more stringent when it comes to the academic schedule. So the academic standards are higher on the fire side," Trevino explained. "However, the police side is a lot more physical, more physically demanding."