Description

Behind the Investigation:  Exploring Roles, Realities & Responsibilities in Medicolegal Death Investigation
Developed by Dr. Shelby Scott, MSc., PhD, in partnership with CSFS.

Time: Oct 19, 2026 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada), 60 minutes total

“Beyond the Flames: The Fire Investigator’s Role in Medicolegal Death Investigation”

Fire scenes present complex challenges in medicolegal death investigation, where heat and scene damage may alter or obscure critical evidence. This webinar explores the role of the Fire & Explosion Investigator, including how these investigations contribute to determining what happened, how findings are interpreted alongside other forensic evidence, and the collaborative process involved in investigating fire deaths.

Speaker:  Dwayne Meharrie
Provincial Fire & Explosion Investigator
Fire Investigation Services (FIS)
Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal – Ministry of the Solicitor General

Dwayne is a Fire and Explosion Investigator with the Office of the Fire Marshal and brings 10 years of fire service experience to the investigation of fires, explosions, and fire-related fatalities. Over the past four years, Dwayne has worked as a fire and explosion investigator, applying both operational fire service experience and specialized investigative training to the examination of complex fire scenes.

Throughout his career, Dwayne has pursued specialized education and training relevant to fire investigation and forensic scene examination. This includes training in Scenes of Crime and Explosives Familiarization through the Toronto Police College, as well as courses in Fire and Explosion Investigation and Burnt Human Remains Recovery. This training has contributed to a multidisciplinary approach to scene investigation, including the recognition, documentation, preservation, and recovery of evidence within challenging fire environments.

Fatal fire scenes present unique investigative challenges. Fire can significantly alter a scene, affect physical evidence, complicate the interpretation of injuries, and make the reconstruction of events leading to a death particularly difficult. These investigations frequently require close cooperation among fire investigators, coroners, forensic pathologists, police investigators, forensic identification personnel, and other specialists. Through his investigative work, Dwayne plays a crucial role between fire investigation and medicolegal death investigation.