Firebombings Are Making Headlines. Here's What They Leave Behind.

Over the past 12 months, firebombings have become an increasingly common feature of the nightly news across Sydney and Melbourne. While many of these attacks are believed to be linked to organised crime, illicit tobacco disputes and gangland activity, the headlines often focus on who may be responsible rather than the lasting impact these incidents have on innocent people.

For many Australians, a firebombing is simply another crime story. For those of us who investigate fires, it represents something much more complex. Behind every burnt-out business or destroyed home is a scientific investigation aimed at answering one simple question: what actually happened?

Deliberately lit fires present some of the most challenging investigations a fire investigator can undertake. Unlike many other types of incidents, fire is capable of destroying the very evidence needed to explain how it started. As temperatures increase, materials are consumed, structural elements collapse, and potential evidence is altered by both the fire itself and the firefighting efforts required to extinguish it.

By the time investigators arrive, the scene has already changed dramatically.

Our role is to reconstruct what occurred by applying a systematic scientific methodology. Every investigation begins with gathering and analysing evidence before developing and testing hypotheses about the origin and cause of the fire. Internationally recognised guidance, including NFPA 921, emphasises that fire investigations must be grounded in the scientific method rather than assumption or speculation.

At a suspected firebombing, investigators are looking for far more than whether the fire was deliberately lit. We examine fire patterns, identify the area of origin, assess potential ignition sources, consider whether ignitable liquids were involved and document every piece of physical evidence that may assist in reconstructing the fire's development. CCTV, witness accounts and laboratory analysis often become just as important as the physical scene itself.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that a fire investigator can always identify who started the fire. In reality, that is rarely our role.

A forensic fire investigation may establish that the fire was deliberately lit, determine where it originated and explain how it spread. However, identifying the individual responsible usually relies on the broader criminal investigation conducted by police, including CCTV footage, mobile phone records, automatic number plate recognition, DNA, fingerprints and intelligence gathered through organised crime investigations. Fire investigators explain the how; police work to establish the who.

While much of the media attention centres on organised crime, the people most affected are often those with no involvement whatsoever.

The neighbouring café forced to close because of smoke contamination. The family living above a targeted business who suddenly have nowhere to live. Employees who arrive at work to find their workplace destroyed. Landlords facing months of rebuilding. Businesses that lose customers long after the fire has been extinguished.

Fire does not recognise property boundaries. Once ignited, it spreads wherever fuel, oxygen and conditions allow. What may have been intended as an act of intimidation against one business can quickly become a devastating event affecting an entire strip of shops or residential complex.

These incidents also present significant challenges for insurers. Beyond determining whether a fire was deliberately lit, insurers must assess business interruption, property damage, neighbouring losses, policy coverage, tenant and landlord responsibilities and, where appropriate, recovery actions. They must also remain alert to opportunistic behaviour that can arise after a major loss, whether that involves inflated claims, unrelated damage being attributed to the fire, or attempts by individuals to take advantage of the circumstances for financial gain. Establishing the origin and cause of the fire as early as possible helps insurers separate legitimate losses from unsupported claims, allowing policyholders to receive fair outcomes while protecting the integrity of the claims process.

From a fire investigator's perspective, every firebombing is a reminder that science matters. Fires don't simply tell us what happened, we have to carefully interpret the evidence that remains after much of it has already been destroyed. That requires patience, experience and a commitment to following the evidence wherever it leads.

As firebombings continue to feature in headlines across Australia, it is worth remembering that the greatest damage is not always measured by the building that burned. It is measured by the businesses that never reopen, the families displaced from their homes, the communities left feeling unsafe and the innocent people whose lives change because someone chose to use fire as a weapon.

Understanding how these investigations are conducted helps explain why they take time, why early scene preservation is so important and why forensic fire investigation remains a critical part of delivering answers for police, insurers and those affected by these devastating incidents.