PRESS RELEASE:
ATF INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TEAM TO INVESTIGATE PRISON FIRE IN HONDURAS
WASHINGTON — At the request of the Honduran government, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today activated its International Response Team (IRT) to investigate the fire that swept through a national correctional facility in Comayagua, Honduras, killing more than 350 inmates. The ATF IRT provides technical and forensic assistance and oversight worldwide in arson and explosives investigations.
At approximately 10:50 p.m. Tuesday a blaze swept through the prison which housed approximately 850 inmates. The Honduran government requested ATF’s expertise through the Department of State to determine the cause of the fire. The ATF lead element of the team will arrive today and begin reconstructing the scene, identifying the origin of the fire, conducting interviews, and sifting through debris to obtain evidence related to the blaze.
The ATF IRT is composed of veteran special agents who have post blast and fire origin–and–cause expertise; forensic chemists; explosives enforcement officers; fire protection and electrical engineers; accelerant detection canines; explosives detection canines; intelligence support, computer forensic support and forensic audit support. Each team assembled and deployed is designed to best accommodate the specific incident.
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