Fire Inquests and the Specifics of Forest Fire Investigation

The article presents an inquest as a form of state influence on violators of requirements for fire safety resulting in fires, especially those leading to significant consequences. It highly affects fire safety violators as an authority makes decision concerning perpetrators, including complete compensation of material loss and criminal liability. The study also considers the procedure of inquest on fires in general, its main stages, decisions made based on the results of the inquest, and terms of implementation. The process of investigating forest fires and its basic aspects, i.e., examining the location of the fire, interviewing witnesses, requesting certificates and documents, and appointing an expert examination, are provided in detail. The description of these processes relies on the legislation of the Russian Federation. The specifics of forest fires are identified. The main problematic issues faced by investigators are formulated based on the considered aspects of the investigation of such crimes and their specifics. The issues have been also formulated in accordance with the attributes of forest fires in general, such as extensive areas of fire, dependence on meteorological conditions and local relief, and other factors. To address the detected issues, the study provides a number of proposals based on the application of modern technologies to identify the source and causes of a fire and the improvement of the legal aspect of the issue, including closer international cooperation. The implementation of proposed measures will improve the efficiency of forest fire investigations, which, in turn, will enable to determination of the most crucial fields of fire prevention.