TOP 5........

[JAY FROM OHIO]

If you could only carry 5 tools in an investigation kit what would they be??? Now these are tools in the "hardware" sense. Cameras, tape recorders, or stuff that can't be purchased at a regular hardware don't count. Please share why you choosewhat you choose. Thanks. Jay

[JAY FROM OHIO]

I'll get the ball rolling. I've been an investigator for 2 1/2 years on a small rural combination department. My 5 choices would be: a utility knife, crowbar, putty knife, blind man's measuring tape and a bottle of Fantastik.
* Th utility knife because it comes in handy on removing samples or as a sharp scraping tool.
* A crowbar for it's unmatched prying power.
* A putty knife for gingerly scraping samples off of floors, doors or any other potential site.
* A blind man's tape measure but the large numbers are easy to see in those "poor" lighting conditions and they show up well in photos.
* A bottle of Fantastik. Ok, ok; so it's not exactly a tool but I was taught at a conference once that it is the only cleaning chemical that will thouroughly clean off hydrocarbons and will not give off false positives on subsiquent samples.

I know you can come up with much better ones.
Jay

[firechick1]

Not doing many structure fires these days so my five essentials are a little different.

5 things...

1) my camera-no pictures, no fire scene.
2) my leatherman tool-knives, screwdrivers, can be used to scrape, cut and even do small pry jobs.
3) my notebook-found a handy-dandy one that is realatively water-proof (no smears and can be written on when wet). No more writing in ziploc bags.
4)flashlight-adds lights to pictures, can be used if your flash decides to quit; also nice to see what could be hiding in the corner of the crawlspace underneath the house before you bellycrawl in there.
5)magnifying glass-I look at a lot of electrical wire in the types of investigations I am doing.

[mtnfireguy]

1. Prybar
2. Tape Measure
3. 4 in 1 Screwdriver
4. Utility knife
5. Flashlight