The Chicago Fire Department’s Office of Fire Investigation (OFI) was instituted in 1984, and is tasked with determining the origin and cause of fires within the city.

The origin and cause of fires must be discovered, so we as a society can learn from those fires and try not to repeat the circumstances that came together to start the fire. 

OFI personnel are trained in fire multiple disciplines of the fire sciences, and work to determine the cause of the fire without bias or expectation.  Personnel must maintain a vast knowledge library to understand fires involving an array of things like vehicles, appliances, space heaters, and the spontaneous combustion process.  

When a fire is determined to be criminal in nature, OFI then transfers jurisdiction to the Chicago Police Department Arson Section detectives.

Burned Vehicle Interview Requirements

File a Fire FOIA Request

OFI Conducting Investigations

OFI Seminars:

Chicago Fire Department OFI offers educational training seminars to Fire Investigators across the state of Illinois. These are only open to certified Fire Investigators or with the approval of Commanding Fire Marshal Ryan Rivera.