Bush fires, domestic violence, mental health: Record year for fire fatalities

Queensland’s top fire investigator says domestic violence and mental health incidents remain “overrepresented” following a record year for fire-related fatalities.

Inspector Daren Mallouk, manager of the State Fire Investigation Unit, Hamilton, on Tuesday 19th December 2023 - Photo Steve Pohlner

EXCLUSIVE

Queensland’s top fire investigator says domestic violence and mental health incidents remain “overrepresented” following a record year for fire-related fatalities.

In an exclusive sit-down with The Courier-Mail, manager of the State Fire Investigation Unit Daren Mallouk revealed there had been 33 fire-related fatalities in 2023, a figure that “surpassed” all records.

Insp Mallouk is part of a team of 60 officers in Queensland, but also manages the State Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) based in Hamilton - a team of just three officers who investigate fires in the greater Brisbane area and, at times, across the state – mostly fatal fires.

“All (fire-related fatalities) need to be investigated and reported on,” he said.

“Typically, if we are on scene things haven’t ended well and we see people at their most vulnerable.

“Unfortunately, we also see the dark side of humanity and what some people will do to others or what they think they can get away with.”

Last year’s figures also included two bushfire related fatalities.

He said, on a personal level, he found fatal fires involving children the hardest to investigate.

“Everybody will have different coping mechanisms, but for me as callous as this sounds, I try to keep them faceless,” he said.

“I deliberately avoid news articles, stories (and) social media because it becomes that little bit more difficult when this kind of connection is made.”

Insp Mallouk said mental health and wellbeing is taken “very seriously” within the unit.

“We have regular visits from a psychologist as well as an internal support network,” he said.

But Insp Mallouk conceded that the domestic violence murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children in 2020 “got to him”.

Inspector Daren Mallouk. Photo: Steve Pohlner

“I saw long serving, case hardened firefighters visibly rocked by what they had encountered,” he said.

Insp Mallouk was on leave when a recent blaze ripped through a Russell Island home and claimed the lives of five young boys and their father but he revealed that incident also “knocked” experienced FIOs.

“All (fire-related fatalities) need to be investigated and reported on,” he said.

“Typically, if we are on scene things haven’t ended well and we see people at their most vulnerable.

“Unfortunately, we also see the dark side of humanity and what some people will do to others or what they think they can get away with.”

Insp Mallouk described the role of a FIO as “part amateur sleuth, part budding structural or electrical engineer, part aspiring forensic scientist and part-time regulator and enforcement officer”.

FIOs are called in to determine the cause of fires when there is one bedroom or more burnt in a home, the cause is unknown, it has more than one point of origin, or if anyone is injured or killed.

Insp Mallouk said a risk assessment is conducted as soon as an officer arrives on scene but that sometimes it is simply too unsafe to investigate, especially if the building or structure has “pancaked”.

Insp Mallouk said, at times, there is simply not enough evidence to classify a fire as “incendiary, accidental or natural”.

He said when a room has reached “auto ignition temperature”, the contents will catch fire at the same time - conditions he likened to a “crematorium” with fire patterns often “overwritten”.

“Fire patterns are vital clues in the investigation process, and understanding their significance is key to uncovering the origin and cause of a fire,” Insp Mallouk said.

“It’s like a puzzle. Every fire scene you go to you learn something new and see something different.”

Fire investigations typically move from areas of least damage to most, to ensure nothing is missed, but Insp Mallouk said they will also speak to the first crews on scene, witnesses and neighbours and try to source mobile or CCTV footage.

Insp Mallouk said fires often left a V-shaped pattern of increased damage over the ignition source, commonly known as a “heat signature”.

But fire patterns can also evolve into an hourglass or “mushroom”, depending on the ferocity of the fire.

Insp Mallouk worked as a race car mechanic before he joined the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) in 2001.

“For every failure within the race car you had to then (determine) ‘why did it fail’ so I think that’s where the natural curiosity of why things happen sort of came from,” he said.

“As I progressed through the ranks and over the years of the fire service – you see the fire, extinguish it but then you think ‘well how did that start?’,” Insp Mallouk said.

Insp Mallouk moved into the role of a FIO in 2013 and became manager of the FIU in 2020.

He said for a fire to remain alive and thrive it must have fuel, oxygen and heat.

“Understanding how these three elements came together and at what levels provides vital clues,” he said.

“For example if windows and doors were left open, they can form both an inlet for extra oxygen to be drawn in by the fire while simultaneously providing an outlet for the build-up of superheated smoke.

“Open floor plans with minimal barriers allow for faster movement of flames and smoke, while compartmentalised spaces may slow down the spread.”

Insp Mallouk said patterns can indicate whether a fire was fuelled by natural or synthetic materials, if accelerants were used or if multiple points of origin exist but FIOs also look for signs of forced entry.

He said a recent investigation that spanned two years caught a serial arsonist linked to more than 25 fires between mid-2019 and early 2022 with each scene “meticulously examined and documented”.

“I can remember meeting up with the lead detective on Christmas Day 2021 to investigate one of the fires linked to the arsonist,” he said.

Insp Mallouk said the results of their findings can be used as evidence in criminal prosecutions or whenever a “trend” of electrical product failures is identified.