Insurance Industry Donates Arson Van

to the CT Department of Public Safety

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle, on behalf of the Office of State Fire Marshal, accepted the keys to the new arson van equipped with state-of-the-art fire investigation equipment.  The keys were presented by Don Viewig, President of the Connecticut FAIR Plan. The cost of the van was $125,337 and was the seventh van donated by the Insurance Industry.

On behalf of the Department of Public Safety, Commissioner Boyle thanked the FAIR Plan for their generous gift and stressed how important the arson van is in assisting the investigators in determining the cause and origin of fires.

The van is equipped for video and still photography of fire scenes for investigative and courtroom use.  It also includes the newest computer and communications equipment and is designed for use as a mobile command post, providing appropriate areas for operations, planning and interviewing.  High-powered lighting and heating equipment allows investigators to work in darkness and extreme cold.  Specially trained State Police Detectives from the Office of the State Fire Marshal- Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement operate the van, which is available to assist local fire marshals on request.  In 2005, Bureau personnel responded to 244 requests for assistance in determining the causation of fires.

The FAIR Plan, which has continued a commitment of resources to the Office of State Fire Marshal over the past 30 years, is a consortium of Connecticut’s property insurance companies.  Among the programs sponsored by the Connecticut FAIR Plan is the Arson Tip Award, which pays up to $2,500 for information leading to the prevention or prosecution of an arson crime in Connecticut.  The FAIR Plan has been a sponsor of the annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest for Connecticut’s fourth and fifth graders for the past twenty-three years and also provides stipends for local fire investigators to attend arson related seminars and financial assistance to the Office of State Fire Marshal’s Advanced Fire/Arson Investigation School that is held annually at the Connecticut Fire Academy.