Welcome to the June 2009 CFITrainer.net podcast. This month we’ll feature live reports from the 2009 IAAI Annual Training Conference held in May where there were more than 450 attendees. First, we’re joined by some of the attendees to hear about the experiences at ATC. Then we interview newly elected IAAI President, Robert Schaal about the new IAAI Fire Investigation Technician program or FIT. CFITrainer.net traveled to IAAI’s Annual Training Conference in Arlington, Texas last month. Let’s hear what the attendees had to say about their experience.

ATTENDEE: The selection of training was great again this year.

ATTENDEE: The variety of classes is just unbelievable.

ATTENDEE: This is quite a unique opportunity to see presenters of this caliber that come from Canada and the opportunity to sort of rub shoulders with all these folks is just incredible.

ATTENDEE: I came to see what was going on in the international association and see if they had new ideas and what I could bring back to our membership.

ATTENDEE: The training that we have is usually top notch.

ATTENDEE: You had your public service track and you had your private sector tract.

ATTENDEE: It’s a great opportunity to network.

ATTENDEE: Probably the best training you’re going to get anywhere.

ATTENDEE: The camaraderie, the evening hours, getting together with everybody from really around the world and getting to meet different investigators from all walks of life. It’s a good time after classes to meet with other people and talk with them and get to know them. Meet a lot of new friends here.

ATTENDEE: I thought some of the instructors and the training programs being presented was top notch.

ATTENDEE: I’m so happy and so proud to be here.

ATTENDEE: Instructors present a lot of information in a short period of time that covers a broad range.

ATTENDEE: This is the third ATC that I’ve been to.

ATTENDEE: I’ve been attending for the past several years now and it’s always interesting.

ATTENDEE: It’s the third time.

ATTENDEE: This is my first.

ATTENDEE: I think this is my fifth.

ATTENDEE: Oh, let’s see, this will be my 15th I think.

ATTENDEE: I went to the BATS course, and then I took the BATS training, and this is going to be an awesome system to use where it’s going to manage all of our data.

ATTENDEE: The main class that I was interested in this year was really the firehouse secrets dealing with firefighters involved in arson.

ATTENDEE: We have a one week presentation on the fundamentals of fire investigation.

ATTENDEE: A favorite course is fire fatalities.

ATTENDEE: Too much to list there. It all was for me there. I’m glad I had the choice of many other things to pick from.

ATTENDEE: I believe that knowledge and the spreading of this knowledge is important to do this job and to share the experiences and to learn as much as we can to improve our science and technology, about that, and I think I am taking home more of this experience and to try to give it to my members, my friends and all the people involved in this thing.

ATTENDEE: The first day I sat in on the basics class, went over 1033 and 921 and became very intrigued with the way the instructors presented the information and the quality of information that was presented.

ATTENDEE: The knowledge you gain not only from the classes and the curriculum that’s going on, but the camaraderie and the knowledge you gain from people also that attend.

ATTENDEE: I’ve met people from Alberta, British Alberta, in the Vancouver area, Oregon, and people from a number of different states.

ATTENDEE: Yes, I went yesterday and we went to the livestock in Ft. Worth, and then we took a ride in downtown Dallas.

ATTENDEE: Went to the Rangers baseball game, which was a real good time.

ATTENDEE: Oh, always have fun. Well just meeting my friends, heading out for the evening, socializing and that, but the main reason is coming here to learn.

INTERVIEWER: At ATC 2009 we also caught up with the incoming President of IAAI, Robert Schaal, to talk about the new Fire Investigation Technician program that IAAI will start this summer. Good to see you Robert.

ROBERT SCHAAL: Good to see you Rod.

INTERVIEWER: So we’re going to talk today a little bit about the FIT program. Tell me, why did the IAAI create the new technician program?

ROBERT SCHAAL: We created the IAAI Fire Investigation Technician program to provide access to a professional designation to more people that don’t necessarily qualify for other certification programs.

INTERVIEWER: So Bobby, what are the main differences between the new technician program and the existing CFI program?

ROBERT SCHAAL: Well the IAAI FIT program does not test to all of the same job performance requirements as the CFI program. What we did is picked out some of the baseline core competencies from several existing standards, the standard for Professional Qualification for Fire Investigators in NFPA1033, the standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications 1021, and the standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Marshals 1037. All of those have some investigative component in them. We don’t test to all of the job performance requirements, but we picked out ones that we thought were critical for people entering this field or related to this field. It’s a program designed for people that may just be starting in the fire investigation field or may have some capacity where they are involved in investigations, whether it be an insurance adjuster, a claims adjuster, an insurance company special investigation unit, somebody with a volunteer or paid department that kind of helps out their fire officer in processing fire scenes. We wanted to give them a path to reach some professional designation and recognition of the training and accomplishment.

INTERVIEWER: So what’s the minimum amount of time that somebody could jump into the FIT program?

ROBERT SCHAAL: It has three core requirements. It has an experience requirement, you have to have 18 months of general experience, and that’s another difference from the CFI program. The CFI program is specific experience related to fire investigation. This is a generalized experience. You have to have 44 hours of training. There are four classes that are requirements that are all available free on CFITrainer.net, and the other 30 hours can be made up of any training, you know, whether it be your state chapter or some other fire related training that you attend. And then once you achieve those two, then there is a comprehensive examination that’s based on the scientific text and journals related to fire investigation.

INTERVIEWER: So give me an idea of when you expect the program to be launched. I know it’s coming soon.

ROBERT SCHAAL: It’s coming soon. We’re in the final process of developing the test database, and once the beta testing and program requirements are set, it should be launched within the next 30 to 60 days.

INTERVIEWER: That’s great. Anything else you want to add?

ROBERT SCHAAL: No, I think we’re really excited about the program. I think it’s going to be really beneficial to the field and it’s going to give people some idea of the path they need to take to continue their professional development.

That concludes this CFITrainer.net podcast recapping this year’s IAAI ATC. By the way, next year’s ATC is in Orlando, Florida. Stay tuned for more information on the new FIT program as it rolls out this summer. We’ll see you next month.