BFP SOPs on Fire and Arson Investigation: Workflow, Reports & Documentation

Where the investigative mandate sits

The CSC scope names SOPs on Fire and Arson Investigation because investigation is a regulated administrative process, not only fire science. Three layers of authority stack:

• Section 54, Chapter IV of Republic Act No. 6975 (Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990) gives the Fire Bureau "the power to investigate all causes of fires and, if necessary, file the proper complaints with the city or provincial prosecutor who has jurisdiction over the case."
• RA 9514 (Fire Code of the Philippines of 2008) and its 2019 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations lodge enforcement of the Fire Code in the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
• Section 4(d) of RA 11589 (BFP Modernization Act of 2021) commits the ten-year modernization program to establishing "a Search and Rescue Force, HAZMAT units, Fire and Arson Investigation Unit, and Security and Protection Unit in every region and city."

The operative issuance is BFP Standard Operating Procedure Number 2023-001, "Standard Operating Procedure on Fire Investigation" (11 October 2023). It repealed SOP Number IID 2008-01 on Comprehensive Fire and Arson Investigation and Filing of Criminal Complaint Procedures, adopts NFPA 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations (2021 edition), and takes effect fifteen (15) days after filing a copy with the University of the Philippines Law Center under Executive Order No. 292. If an FOE item asks which issuance governs BFP fire investigation today, this is the answer.

Who investigates what

Investigation is carried out by the City/Municipal Intelligence and Investigation Unit (C/MIIU), the District/Provincial Intelligence and Investigation Section (D/PIIS), the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Branch (RIIB), and the Directorate for Intelligence and Investigation at National Headquarters. The default is that the city or municipal station holds original jurisdiction over every fire in its area of responsibility regardless of the estimated amount of damage — including fires on vessels docked at wharves or in transit, aircraft on the ground, forests, gas leaks and explosions, fires inside Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and freeport zones, and fires regardless of the number of fatalities.

Higher offices assume the case on defined triggers: the district or provincial office where political pressure blocks disposal, where the fire straddles two territories, or where a party challenges the station's findings; the regional office where public property is involved, where insurgents are implicated, where circumstances are rendered suspicious by frequency of occurrence or details of ownership, or on challenge to a provincial finding; and National Headquarters for highly sensationalized cases, government properties needing urgent resolution, Special Structures under the Fire Code and Critical Infrastructure as defined in RA 11479 (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020), or on written order of the Chief, BFP. Where circumstances warrant, a Special Investigative Task Group (SITG) may be created on request to the regional headquarters, with a fresh period of forty-five (45) days to finish. Two jurisdictional facts examinees miss: fires inside foreign embassies and consular offices are outside Philippine jurisdiction and may be investigated only with the consent of the Head of Mission or through Department of Foreign Affairs channels, while fires inside PEZA and freeport zones are squarely within BFP authority.

BFP authority holds "notwithstanding the concurrent jurisdiction of other government agencies," but coordination is mandatory. Fatal fires are worked with the Scene of the Crime Operatives of the Philippine National Police (SOCO-PNP) for processing, identification and autopsy of the bodies, each side preserving the other's scene. Explosions go first to the PNP Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit to determine the nature of the blast and render it safe; post-blast investigation of incidents caused by explosives or their precursors is led by the PNP with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), with the BFP in support. Where the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government so directs, a case is taken up by the Inter-Agency Anti-Arson Task Force (IATF), drawing in practice on the BFP, NBI, Department of Justice (DOJ) and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. Criminal complaints go to the Office of the City or Provincial Prosecutor.

The workflow, end to end

1. Receipt of assignment. On notice of a fire call the Fire and Arson Investigator (FAI) proceeds to the scene, conducts an initial size-up, and performs whatever investigative acts are possible during suppression — identifying and initially interviewing witnesses, coordinating with other agencies.
2. Coordination with the fire ground. On initial determination of the Area of Fire Origin (AFO), the FAI coordinates with the Fire Ground Commander so that evidence is not destroyed by firefighting operations.
3. Scene security. After suppression the FAI secures the scene and informs all concerned that it is restricted from entry until the investigation is completed or terminated. Removal of stored items, demolition, reconstruction or rehabilitation requires written authorization from the investigating body.
4. Walkthrough and documentation — scene assessment, photography, sketch preparation and note taking; suspected hazardous materials or chemicals of security concern are handled under the BFP Operational Procedures Manual.
5. Origin and cause determination — identify the competent ignition source, the material first ignited and the relevant conditions, using the scientific method; fire pattern analysis and arc fault mapping may be employed.
6. Evidence recovery. Items of probative value are collected and documented, witnessed by the fire victim or an authorized representative, or in their absence by a witness independent of the BFP investigative team.
7. Laboratory referral. Evidence is submitted to the Fire Laboratory Service (FLS) at National Headquarters within the period and by the means it prescribes; handling, storage and travel time must keep the chain of custody intact.
8. Witness canvassing and formal interview. Relevant witnesses — owner, occupant, first-in crew, bystanders — are formally invited in writing and examined in question-and-answer form; statements are sworn before a person authorized to administer an oath or a member of the BFP investigative team holding the rank of at least Fire Inspector.
9. Documentary requirements. The fire victim supplies a notarized itemized affidavit of loss, the sworn statement of loss given to insurance adjusters, the latest inventory of stocks before the fire and of salvaged items after, complete insurance policies including co-insurance, the income tax returns, financial statements and balance sheets for the last three (3) years, Mayor's permit and business licence, occupancy permit, Department of Trade and Industry and Securities and Exchange Commission registrations, the latest Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC), the list of employees on scene, approved plans, lease contract and land title — varying by occupancy.
10. Scene release. The Head of Office decides on the Property Recovery and Clearing Permit (PRCP) on written request; an interim permit may cover an area other than the AFO where continued exposure is an imminent danger. Where the fire is suspected to be intentional, PRCP issuance is temporarily restricted.
11. Follow-up investigation proceeds under a Letter/Mission Order signed by the Chief of the Investigation and Intelligence Office and noted by the Head of Office.
12. Case build-up and disposition — filing with the prosecutor, or issuance of clearances where the cause is accidental.
13. Reinvestigation where new evidence or a new witness surfaces, on approval of the Regional Director or the Chief, BFP; the original office turns over the complete case folder within five (5) working days, all issued clearances are revoked, and the reinvestigation must not exceed thirty (30) working days from the order.

The documentation set

Alongside these sit the investigator's own working papers — field notes, the photograph log, the sketch, and the evidence and chain-of-custody records. Two disclosure rules are examinable. First, issuance of the FIR is limited to the report itself: attachments and substantiating documents stay with the station that investigated, subject to presentation, authentication and attestation when a competent judicial authority summons them. Second, information on an ongoing investigation is confidential unless otherwise directed, press inquiries are answered only where release will not jeopardize operations or prejudice the outcome, and unauthorized disclosure is dealt with administratively.

Classifying the cause — and the "undetermined" trap

NFPA 921 classifies a fire's cause as accidental, natural, incendiary or undetermined, and undetermined is a legitimate analytical outcome when the data will not support a single hypothesis. But SOP 2023-001 adds a Philippine wrinkle you must know cold: "No UNDETERMINED cause should be reflected in any FIR." Where a case cannot be completed for reasons independent of the FAI's will, an FIR must still be accomplished stating the details of the investigation and the most probable conclusion on the presenting circumstances; the case is then closed on its merits and expressly marked subject to reopening should evidence or a witness later surface. Where the reglementary period cannot be met, a written request for extension goes to National Headquarters with the justification stated.

This is not a licence to guess. A "most probable conclusion" that no note, photograph or laboratory result supports is expectation bias with a signature on it, and defence counsel will take it apart. The examinable position is both halves: undetermined is a valid classification in the analysis, but the BFP report must carry a most-probable conclusion and stay reopenable.

Filing the case

Fire-related criminal complaints are initiated by the Chief of the Intelligence and Investigation Branch, Section or Unit and/or the FAI, with the information and guidance of the Head of Office, and the FAI presents the case in court unless the court directs otherwise. The FAI may arrest a suspect positively identified by a complainant or witness, subject to the law on valid warrantless arrest and to the delivery periods in Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) of 12, 18 or 36 hours depending on the gravity of the offense. A person so arrested goes to inquest — a summary determination by an inquest prosecutor inside that window — unless he asks for a preliminary investigation and signs a waiver of Article 125 in the presence of counsel. Where nobody was arrested, the FAI files a complaint-affidavit for regular preliminary investigation, which Rule 112, Section 1 requires for any offense carrying a penalty of at least four years, two months and one day; every grade of arson qualifies.

Two current points matter. The 2024 DOJ-NPS Rules on Preliminary Investigation and Inquest Proceedings (DOJ Department Circular No. 15, s. 2024, effective 31 July 2024) raised the filing standard to reasonable certainty of conviction — the evidence at hand must, if left uncontroverted, establish every element and warrant conviction beyond reasonable doubt. A thin FIR that once squeaked past probable cause is now dismissed at the prosecutor's desk. And where the burning arose from negligence or imprudence causing serious physical injuries or damage to another's property, the charge is Article 365 RPC (reckless imprudence), not arson. Adverse resolutions are appealed under DOJ Department Circular No. 70, the 2000 National Prosecution Service Rule on Appeal, with BFP Legal Officers assisting.

Quality and integrity controls

The composition and duties of the Fire and Arson Investigative Team follow Memorandum Circular 2021-022, the Job Performance Requirement of Fire and Arson Investigators, and deviations are authorized only in specific circumstances and monitored by National Headquarters. Every fire scene is treated as a potential crime scene unless the contrary is established. A Fire Marshal related by consanguinity or affinity to a victim, or bound by a personal or professional relationship, may inhibit — the SOP flags that "may" is permissive while emphasising accountability for violating public trust — and a written declaration of interest justifies reassigning the case to another station. Supervisory review runs through the escalation ladder above, and the SIR/FIR stream feeds the fire-incidence statistics the BFP uses for resource allocation and the March Fire Prevention Month campaign.

The exposure for a dishonest investigator is severe and layered. SOP violations are dealt with administratively and command responsibility sweeps in Regional, Provincial and District Fire Directors and City/Municipal Fire Marshals, without prejudice to criminal and civil action. Falsifying a report is falsification by a public officer under Article 171 RPC, punished by prisión mayor and a fine not exceeding PhP 1,000,000.00 as adjusted by RA 10951; administratively, falsification of an official document and serious dishonesty are grave offenses punishable by dismissal on the first offense under the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service. Soliciting anything from a claimant violates Section 7(d) of RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) and exposes the officer under RA 3019. Even sitting on a certification is actionable: RA 11032 (Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018) caps government transactions at three working days for simple, seven for complex and twenty for highly technical services, and delay engineered to invite a facilitation fee is a fixing offense.