Cause-and-effect relationship between violations of fire safety regulations and fire consequences as a subject of forensic fire expertise

Purpose. The article is devoted to the current problem of improving methodology of expert fire investigation in terms of establishing presence (absence) of cause-and-effect relationship between violations of fire safety regulations and the consequences of a fire. Methods. The scientific basis for the study was a system analysis, methods of information synthesis and expert analysis. Findings. The analysis of the main stages of methodology development, as well as its current state leads to the conclusion about the need for its modification, taking into account fundamental logical and ontological characteristics of causeand-effect relationship. In particular, it must be considered that a cause is a necessary and sufficient condition for its effect. An algorithm for determining presence or absence of a causal relationship between violations of fire safety regulations and occurred negative consequences of a fire is proposed. Research application field. The obtained results can be used in solving problems of fire expertise, as well as in further development of methods for determining presence or absence of a causal relationship between violations of fire safety regulations and occurred negative consequences of a fire. Conclusions. Ways for improving expert research schemes which will allow avoiding mistakes when solving a number of tasks have been proposed.