Kansas fire marshal raises alarm after six death investigations fall through cracks

The Kansas fire marshal proposed reform of state law Thursday after identifying six fatalities from fires or explosions in the past year that weren’t thoroughly investigated.

Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen said a majority of the incidents were in smaller communities with volunteer fire departments. Other cases emerged in cities with full-time fire crews or involved law enforcement agencies of all sizes, he said.

The six examples shared with a Kansas Senate committee included fires in which local authorities didn’t fully review evidence or didn’t investigate at all. In one instance, a death was subsequently revealed to be a homicide.

“They’re sort of falling through the cracks,” Jorgensen said. “We need to make sure it’s getting done and we don’t miss these.”

Read more: https://www.cjonline.com/news/20190307/kansas-fire-marshal-raises-alarm-after-six-death-investigations-fall-through-cracks