What is the primary focus during a fire investigation?

The primary focus during a fire investigation is to determine the cause and origin of the fire. This aspect is crucial because understanding how a fire started and where it originated can provide valuable insights for fire prevention, legal liability assessments, and improvements in fire response tactics. Identifying the cause can also help in preventing similar incidents in the future, which is essential for community safety.

Assessing the damage caused by a fire, interviewing witnesses, and recommending fire safety improvements are certainly important components that may occur during or after a fire investigation, but they are secondary to the primary goal of determining how and why the fire occurred. Without establishing the cause and origin, the other actions might lack the necessary context to be truly effective in enhancing fire safety and prevention strategies.