Fire-technical expertise is an important mean of obtaining complete and reliable information about the circumstances of criminal fires. To effectively use the results of a fire-technical expertise in the investigation of fire-related crimes, the investigator must be familiar with the tasks being solved during the forensic examination, the objects being examined, the methods used for their examination, and the expert's competence. It is important to consider the development trends of fire-technical expertise in light of scientific and technological progress, the expansion of the range of objects examined, and the emergence of new demands in investigative practice.