Fire Investigation Home
KSFM Home
 
Other Divisions:
  Prevention
  Hazardous Materials
 
 
Contact Us
 
Obtaining an Investigation Report
 
KSFM fire investigators rule all investigated fires as either accidental, undetermined, or incendiary.

When a fire is ruled accidental, the investigation report is available to the public pursuant to the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), K.S.A. 45-201 et seq. However, a processing fee may be incurred by the requesting party. This processing fee depends on the number of pages included in the report and whether or not case file photographs are requested.
Reports on fires ruled undetermined may be available under the KORA if the case is closed due to a lack of evidence for an incendiary cause and no further investigation is required in the case. However, if the cause of a fire is undetermined and further criminal investigation is pending, the report will be available only to authorized agencies under the Kansas Arson Reporting Immunity Act (KARIA).
When a fire is ruled incendiary, an investigative report is available to authorized agencies only. However, pursuant to the Kansas arson reporting-immunity act (KARIA), K.S.A. 31-401 et seq., the State Fire Marshal’s Office is not required to release any information to an insurance company until the insurance company provides our office with relevant information relating to the fire loss. KSFM investigator will then review the insurance information and if the material provided is sufficient, a copy of the KSFM investigation report will be released to the requesting insurance company. Pursuant to KARIA, our office will not release investigation reports to an insurance adjuster working on behalf of an insurance company. Investigation reports will be distributed to an insurance company only.

All requests must be in writing and must have identifiable information for the fire that occurred. Identifiable information includes the date of fire, type of loss (vehicle, residential, or commercial), address of loss, name of owner, and the KSFM case number, if known.

If you have any questions regarding the distribution of investigation case file reports, please feel free to contact the Investigation Division at (785) 296-8984.