There's Been a Fire

Fire protection engineers and scientists conducted a burn in a large-scale fire lab. Your job will be to investigate the origin of this blaze, and build a claim supported with evidence and reasoning. Just like a real investigator!

Watch the video and scroll through this page to learn about the problem you will be exploring!

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Reflect

What did you notice in the kitchen scene that might help you determine how the fire started?

Blackened surfaces

You might have noticed blackened walls in the room. Were they all the same? How could these patterns help you understand how the fire behaved?

Char

You might have noticed a blackened substance in the room called char. What is char? What does char tell us about what did or did not burn?

Burned and unburned objects

You might have noticed that some items in the room did not burn. Why might some things burn when others do not? What does this tell us about how fire grows and develops?

Do you have some initial claims about the origin of the fire?

What else do you need to understand so you can solve the case?

To develop your understanding of fire investigation and fire science, you will:

Enter the Investigators Academy

Here you will learn about the science of fire. This will be where you obtain and evaluate information that you will use to support an evidence-based claim.

Watch a Guided Investigation

This is where you’ll learn how investigators work backwards to gather evidence and analyze patterns.

Solve the Case

It’s time to conduct your own investigation. You’ll make a claim, supported by evidence and scientific reasoning.

Investigators Academy

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