Two years of development have culminated in an interactive cd-rom that's at the forefront of a national initiative to improve fire investigation skills and reduce fire losses from arson. The program is spearheaded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; American Re-Insurance Co.; the nfpa; and the U.S. Fire Administration.

Created to improve the level of basic investigation procedures among fire investigators and related professionals, the interFIRE VR[superscript]tm cd-rom allows users to search an actual fire scene while consulting top national experts. The program was designed to show a comprehensive and systematic investigative approach that can be applied to any fire scene, large or small.

Topics covered on the cd-rom include:

* Fire scene examination fundamentals;

* Correct procedures for evidence identification, documentation and collection; and

* Interviewing witnesses.

By making basic investigation information more available, the program aims to help conclusively investigate more fires. Currently, the causes of about a third of the 2 million fires reported annually are never positively determined, according to the nfpa.

interFIRE VR will be available to U.S. fire and police departments, prosecutors, insurance organizations and others with a professional interest in fire investigation. The goal is to get interFIRE VR into the hands of every U.S. fire investigator by the end of 2000.

interFIRE VR is supported by a Web site at that provides ongoing educational information related to proper fire investigation. To order a copy of interFIRE VR, visit the site or call 877-interfire.