Westchester County Department of Emergency Services

The Westchester County Cause and Origin Team (C&O) was formulated by the Arson Task Force back in 1981. This central resource is available to local fire departments and police departments upon request, with trained experts to assist in determining the origin and cause of fire and explosions that occur in their jurisdiction.

The Team is comprised of up to 32 New York State certified fire investigators, who are volunteer firefighters or police officers.  There are five geographically organized response Zones in the County. Zone 1 comprises the cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, and Yonkers, each of whom has their own fire investigation unit.  Zones 2, 3, 4, and 5 each have six Fire Investigators and two Adjunct Investigators and are supervised by two Deputy Fire Coordinators.  Eugene Malone III (Retired Deputy Chief Fairview FD) and James Cuffe (Retired Sergeant North Castle PD) are assigned geographically throughout the county.

The primary objectives of the Cause and Origin Team are:

• Establish and maintain a quality service to assist fire chiefs in the determination of the origin and cause of suspicious fires throughout the county, consistent with the requirements of GML 204(d).
• Establish and maintain standards for training and experience of police and fire professionals engaged as Cause and Origin Team members.
• Establish and maintain standardized call-out procedures and dispatches for the Cause and Origin Team
• Establish and maintain standardized reporting procedures for the Cause and Origin Team.

The Cause and Origin Team works together with multiple agencies including local police departments, local fire departments, the Office of the District Attorney, the Department of Laboratories and Research, the Office of the Medical Examiner, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, to name a few.  Bringing together police and fire professionals trained in fire investigation results in a more team investigation.  This enhances the success in determining the origin and cause of the fire, as well as the subsequent criminal investigations, were undertaken by local police departments.

Team Members

Arson Task Force Executive Board Members