CFITrainer.Net Podcast

The IAAI and CFITrainer.Net present these podcasts with a focus on issues relating to fire investigation. With expertise from around the world, the International Association of Arson Investigators produces these podcasts to bring more information and electronic media to fire investigators looking for training, education and general information about fire investigation. Topics include recent technologies, issues in the news, training opportunities, changes in laws and standards and any other topic that might be of interest to a fire investigator or industry professional affected by fire. Information is presented using a combination of original stories and interviews with scientists, leaders in fire investigation from the fire service and the law enforcement community.

Welcome to this edition of the IAAI’s CFITrainer.Net podcast.

Before we get started, we’d like to say thanks to those who have supported us in our endeavor to create CFITrainer and this podcast.

The podcast and CFITrainer.Net are funded by DHS FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety Grants through the AFG, or Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program.

We’re also supported by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.

This month, we’re grateful for the support of UL. Having working smoke alarms is critical to public safety. New technology is enabling alarms to be even more effective to better distinguish between smoke from cooking and that from a potentially life-threatening fire. Learn more about this new technology and how it’s being incorporated into new editions of safety standards by visiting smokealarms.UL.org.

Last month, we began an on-location visit to a fire investigation training event for over 200 students conducted by the California Chapter of IAAI. In part one of our visit, we took you to the scene the day before the burn to learn about the plan, set-up, the layout, and what the instructors expected to see after the burn.

In this podcast episode, we are back for the second part of the training event, the second day I should say, of the preparation for the training event, the actual burn and post-fire. Our interviews include a number of experts who were present at the training for different reasons. Dr. Vyto Babrauskas, a pioneer in fire safety science, and the President of Fire Science and Technology, Inc. discusses how scientists will be using the data from the training burns. Jim Brown of Forensic Fire Investigations talks about the use of drones in fire investigation. Mike O’Brien, former president of CCAI, explains some of the instrumentation used during the burn, and FARO Technologies explains their 3D laser technology and how it’s being used in the burn and structure fires. And we check in with Scott Stephens, Executive Director of IAAI, for his thoughts from the location.

We’ll also look at some of the intricacies of the burn characteristics in the context of weather, evaluation of potential sources of ignition within the three-acre test burn area, the purpose of the backburns conducted by the Cal Fire, and the indicators left behind that serve as teaching points for the students at the burn.

Let’s go back to our visit recorded live in California.

ROD AMMON: So, we’re back here at the location for the burn. It’s 7:15 as always with this group. Things started a half hour earlier or 45 minutes earlier than planned, and the noise you hear in the background is the drone warming up for this morning to take some shots in advance of the burn so that there can be comparison later on today.

Back again with Dr. Babrauskas. Thank you again. I heard a lot about what you’re doing, and I’ve been – my company has been working, doing things in fire investigation now for, oh, I think 20-some years, and everybody refers to all of your documentation and everything you’ve ever done, but I don’t think we’ve ever met.

DR. VYTO BABRAUSKAS: Well, it’s a pleasure meeting you.

ROD AMMON: Same here. So, tell me about what it is that you’re looking to do while you’re here at the training.

DR. VYTO BABRAUSKAS: So, the big picture is the following. The NWCG – their first edition of their guide was in 1978, and at that time, they established eight indicators, and then they had another edition in ‘06, and they established 14 indicators, and then they went back in the 2016, went back to 11. The issue is that, as a scientist, any theory that I encounter I need to see has it been validated because if it hasn’t been validated, then there’s some very serious questions. Should you be using it?

So, with regards to the indicators, the first validation paper was author – the lead author – there were many authors, but the lead author was a guy named Albert Simeoni, and two years ago he did a very nice piece of work. But, surprisingly, that was the first paper where somebody said, okay, NWCG has these indicators. Let us take some fires where we know what happened because they’re fires that we set. They’re training fires or experimental fires. And then let’s go see what the indicators register, and how does that compare to the teaching that we get from NWCG?

And so, they published that paper, and it was a landmark because it was the first one ever. Well, it’s a very good thing that they did that, but obviously one is not exactly a large number. So, we would like to see if we can do this as a second exercise through – with the same objectives, see if we can validate or to what extent we can validate which NWCG indicators. And I feel if that exercise is successful, that will be valuable to the profession, and it will be then an important and useful benchmark publication.

ROD AMMON: Thank you very much. So, I’m here with Jim Brown.

JIM BROWN: My company is Forensic Fire Investigations in Southern California. I’ve been in the fire service for 47 years.

ROD AMMON: So, tell me about this interest or focus. It seems like you’ve got quite an expertise in the drone world.

JIM BROWN: It’s really – the technology has been fabulous for us, and it literally puts a photographic platform in any location that you want. For fire investigation, fire scene reconstruction-like, it’s so important for us to have the ability to get several different views at higher levels, even at a 10-foot level. I latched onto this technology pretty early on, and I’ve watched it grow to the point where we now have great optics in the air. We’ve got great vehicles that get us in the air, long flight times, and it should be in every toolbox for every fire investigator.

ROD AMMON: Well, it’s about 8:30 a.m. The safety briefing has ended. Greg Liddicoat and Terry Taylor are out working another field. Actually, this plot was one we didn’t go to yesterday, but it’s actually up against some of the other buildings that are in the area, and they’re going to burn that out really as mostly, from what I understand, as a safety measure just to create a break in front of the buildings that they want to protect. So, they’re going to do that in advance. There’s three engines I think coming in from Cal Fire that are going to be monitoring things here today. So, who am I with?

MIKE O’BRIEN: I’m Mike O’Brien. I’m ex-president of CCAI and part of the group, worked here for – since 2001.

ROD AMMON: So, what are you doing now?

MIKE O’BRIEN: We’re going to put a thermocouple tree out in the middle of the wildland burn just to see if we can pick up temperatures from ground to about 8 foot up. We’re set up in medium brush, and depending on what the wind does, we’ll see how well the thermocouples can pick up and register heat.

ROD AMMON: And that’s not really typical to put thermocouples out in these, is it?

MIKE O’BRIEN: No. They’ve done that up in Montana, the fire management agency up there, but they were doing it in forests and that. I’ve never seen tests done in light brush.

ROD AMMON: Great. More and more data.

MIKE O’BRIEN: More and more data. We print it out and just turn out the graphs.

ROD AMMON: Thought I’d talk to you guys. I’ve got Greg and Terry with me as well as Dr. Babrauskas, and tell me about what’s going on, some changes happened in the weather, and what’s new?

TERRY TAYLOR: So basically, yesterday’s weather, which was overcast and fog to start the day, it’s gone. We have basically a low-pressure system kind of sitting over us here, beautiful clear skies. Sun is out. So that means that the high humidity on the fuels should evaporate within the next couple of hours, and we should be able to have good running fires. The wind prediction was what, Greg?

GREG LIDDICOAT: I can’t remember. I think they said 9 to something out of the northwest. I’m looking at what we call spot weather report where we can get an actual prediction just for this particular spot.

ROD AMMON: And I saw them setting up a weather station, so that’s local here.

GREG LIDDICOAT: Yeah, we’re going to do our own weather station here, but the weather service also can give us a prediction just for this general area right here.

ROD AMMON: So, for other chapters doing a burn, that’s something good for them to know.

GREG LIDDICOAT: They need to get together with their local federal partner or state partner and ask for a spot weather report for that day of their burn.

ROD AMMON: Good to know.

TERRY TAYLOR: And oftentimes your fire dispatch center can do that, your regional center that involves the multiple agencies. They have a direct line to the weather service, and they just get coordinates and say this area this is what it’s going to be. So, then we’re going to put some objects out here to show some burn patterns. I put some cans. I put some rocks. We’re going to put some fireworks out here so that during the course of the fire some things will go pop and bang a little bit, and then we’ll figure out here what we’re going to use to start this. We’re going to start it – all of our plots this time are what we call roadside starts, so somewhere within the roadside, which is where many of the fires occur, is where the ignition point will be.

ROD AMMON: And the fireworks, while they’re fun, they’re there for a reason. What’s that?

TERRY TAYLOR: Well, basically they’re going to leave evidence of their being there, and so what we’ve consistently taught in Nevada and what we should be teaching everywhere is just because you find something doesn’t mean that’s it, and so we want you to keep going when you come to a fire like this. So, this thing will be about 3 acres if it burns wall to wall, and so there will be objects out there, and the vegetation itself that will show fire movement as well as objects like this that would be a source of ignition. And so, if the patterns don’t bring you back to, let’s say, the firework you discover in the middle, then guess what? It’s out of the picture and keep working.

ROD AMMON: Dr. Babrauskas just walked over. They’re putting up the weathervane. It had sort of an angle to it, and with his direction, the weather station is now directly up and down, make sure the readings are right on the mark.

So, as I said, I was going to go looking for the folks from FARO Technologies and find out a little bit how they’re helping out with the California Association of Arson Investigators burns that are going on here. Which one of you guys want to tell me about what’s going on?

DAN TIRAPELLI: Okay, so what we’re looking to do here – my name is Dan Tirapelli with FARO Technologies. What we’re going to do is we’re – FARO sells 3D laser scanners that also do – not only create point clouds and take laser-image data, it also does photographs with this. It does it 360 degrees horizontally and 320 degrees vertically. So, what we’re going to do is we’re going to do the documentation prior to the burns occurring for the buildings, and then we’re going to do post so we can show the difference in that and show burn patterns, that type of information that’s associated with it.

ROD AMMON: Interesting. Have you – can you talk about one situation where you worked with an investigation?

M: Actually, he’d be able to do that.

M: Yeah. There’s been a couple of them where I worked on a case that was – we originally believed that it was an arson case. It was a structure fire that looked like it was probably as a result of insurance claim fraud, and as we started looking at it, in all the initial views of this where – that it was a solid arson case where there was a lot of fuel that had been – natural fuel that had been ignited from just fall leaves and that kind of stuff that had never been really collected. But as we started looking at things from the 3D perspective, we started seeing things that didn’t make any sense, and we actually traced the fire back to the neighbor’s yard where he had been collecting leaves and then putting them in a fire pit, and then he left that unattended.

And then that fire and the embers that came out of that leaped through and went along the structure, so we actually saw radiant heat damage to the siding of that structure, some smoke and radiant damage to some additional structures that were close by. And then where it got in between the two fences there was railroad ties with a lot of tar and pitch on those that added to the intensity of the fire.

We were also able to look at a neighbor’s house that was not involved, but the rear siding, the vinyl siding actually melted on that, and then there’s char patterns on the children’s swing set that was actually also never directly affected by fire but strictly by heat. So, we were able to do heat determinations for how – basically how much the fire raged and then also looking at char patterns for being able to understand how the fire progressed, and this went from being an arson case into being a negligent burn case.

ROD AMMON: Very interesting. Sounds like a great use of technology. So, it sounds like you were doing something that was a combination of the structure and the outside. Are you doing both object and scene-based VR, or how does that work? Does it get stitched? How does your technology work?

M: So, what it captures is everything is captured in the infrared spectrum, so where color lighting and color photographs and things that you would only capture in the ability of color, there’s a lot of stuff that you can’t see. There was another case that we had worked on where a homeowner had actually had a faulty outlet, and it had sparked and smoked up in the room. Rather than fix it, he just painted over it, and when new renters came in, there was a fire that was also in there, but it affected the wall on the opposite side that was tied into the same wiring for that socket.

When we started scanning in there, we were actually able to see the smoke damage and charring through the paint through the infrared spectrum, so he did a crappy job of painting and the infrared actually exposed what was going on there. So essentially what’s happening is the scanner is capturing everything in 3D, and then we’re capturing the images, and we can do it in high-dynamic range as well. So anywhere where you’ve got extreme light and extreme dark, we can actually allow the data to view in the software exactly the same way you would see it with the human eye.

Then you take all that data, once it’s been put together from all these different scan perspectives, you can walk around in the scene using VR as you mentioned, using Oculus Rift or some of the other different manufacturers that are out there of VR. So you can go back into the scene at any point in time, and the beautiful thing where this comes in as far as arson investigators is the number-one cause for cancer in a lot of firefighters is being exposed to the carcinogens with the amount of time that you have to spend on the scene.

With our scanner, you can actually remotely control it, so your amount of time spent in the scene is incredibly small. You can verify everything on your computer prior to leaving because it directly goes into your computer, processes everything so you see your entire project before you break down and leave the scene to make sure you have all of your evidence while minimizing the time in. And then the most important thing, of course, is the analysis work.

So once we’ve got everything put together and we’ve got all of our evidence collected, we can go into what’s called FARO Zone 3D, and we are the only company that has all of the NFPA symbols in a single software entity where you can bring all of your data directly in. It does not have to be converted into any other type of data format where you don’t have any issues or loss of conversion. And another really important thing with all this data is it’s actually digitally encrypted or digitally hashed inside of the scanner, so where a chain of custody comes into play and being able to testify to the accuracy and validity of the data, it can absolutely be traced back to the source date and time.

ROD AMMON: Well, the smell of fire has begun, but it’s not from one of the fires that’s going to be set for the classes. It’s actually some backburns that are being done. I’m going to see if we can talk to the chief a little bit about how they’re being used.

So, my first question for now was just what you’re doing setting the smaller fires down there along the tree line.

CHIEF ERIC SHALHOUB: Okay, so with the predominant wind the way that it works out here, we’re basically trying to create what we call a catcher’s mitt, so we put a black line in that area, which creates a buffer zone so that if we do get head fire going towards all those eucalyptus trees and things that we don’t want to burn, it should hit the black and go out. That’s the tactical use behind it.

ROD AMMON: Thank you.

CHIEF ERIC SHALHOUB: Sure.

ROD AMMON: And your name again is?

CHIEF ERIC SHALHOUB: Eric Shalhoub, battalion chief for Cal Fire.

ROD AMMON: Thanks, chief.

CHIEF ERIC SHALHOUB: You bet.

ROD AMMON: We’ll be back. So, the day is wearing on here, but I just walked up on Scott Stephens who is the executive director of the IAAI, and I thought I’d check in with Scott. He’s been pretty happy about what he’s seeing. How are you doing, Scott?

SCOTT STEPHENS: Fantastic. It’s been a wonderful experience. I want to thank the California chapter for inviting us out here today. There was a lot that went into this with regard to planning and execution, pulled it off, very safety-oriented event, three major fires that were well controlled, and a lot of data points were captured.

ROD AMMON: It’s amazing that we get to stand here. I mean – and we’re looking out across the field and there’s flames licking 15, 20, 25 feet up into the air. It’s like…

SCOTT STEPHENS: It’s bizarre. I mean it’s – you can feel the heat. It’s just – it’s unbelievable.

ROD AMMON: And it’s about 75 yards away from us, and it’s mostly a backfire that’s being used by Cal Fire to stop any more progress of the burn, and everything so far has been going like clockwork.

SCOTT STEPHENS: That’s correct. I mean they’re just doing a phenomenal job out here, Cal Fire and then the California chapter as well, and we’ve got representatives from other chapters around the country as well that are here helping out, facilitating.

ROD AMMON: Thanks a lot, Scott.

SCOTT STEPHENS: Thank you, Rod.

ROD AMMON: It’s Terry Taylor and Greg Liddicoat, and I’m just a little too excited, too. But I know they’re real excited because I’m looking across the field where it looks like – I don’t know – after warfare. It was a pretty intense fire. So, tell me, what did you see, Greg?

GREG LIDDICOAT: I saw some awesome fire here. It just was amazing to see the burn, and it burned the way we thought it was going to burn and looking out at what’s out there right now I’m seeing indicators, macro-indicators, which is exactly what we were hoping for. So, I can’t wait to actually walk out there and see what our micro-indicators look like, our littlest of the rocks and the bottles and stuff like that.

ROD AMMON: I think it’s going to be a little hard to wait – get you to wait until it’s cool.

GREG LIDDICOAT: Exactly. I’m going to be walking out there shortly. It’s almost cool enough now to get out there and walk through the middle of it.

ROD AMMON: We’ve got a heck of a breeze. I know the wind was reporting. It sounded pretty low to me, but I think people can probably hear it. I know we’re 10 to 12, 14 miles an hour.

GREG LIDDICOAT: Yes. I believe we’re probably pushing about – at least 10 right now, and during the middle of the fire there, we were – same thing. It’s been a pretty consistent breeze through here, which was nice. It pushed this fire just exactly the way we wanted it to go.

ROD AMMON: So, Terry, how about you? What are you thinking?

TERRY TAYLOR: Well, I’m looking at – we put a lot of different items out here that would record the directional burning. We’ve got a really outstanding forceful burning forward movement. We’ve got great angles of burning. We’ve got backburning. We’ve got freeze. We’ve got leaf drop. We’ve got just about everything you could possibly get out of the indicators we’re going to be teaching the students, and so this – we put a lot of energy into setting this up, and this looks like it couldn’t really get any better.

ROD AMMON: You know, I’ve gone to a lot of these training pieces – or a lot of these training seminars, and this one has – it’s one of the ones where there’s more instrumentation, more variables, more players. I mean we’ve got three, four drones up in the air, thermocouples out there, multiple cameras that are on the ground. It’s pretty intense.

TERRY TAYLOR: Well, it’s very intense, and we’re basically trying to push the science out so we can record the behavior of the fire. As Dr. Babrauskas has pointed out, there’s a lack of scientific study of the burn patterns that we’ve been teaching, and so we’re hoping that we’re able to validate it.

ROD AMMON: I think Dr. Babrauskas is over there. He’s pretty excited. He’s got the camera in his hand, and I would imagine a towel isn’t far by – far behind.

TERRY TAYLOR: It should be good. He should be pretty happy.

ROD AMMON: We all got pretty heated up during that. All right, guys, we’ll be back.

All right, I’m walking up on Mr. Tom Fee, past president of IAAI, and I think he’s starting to really think the day was a success.

TOM FEE: Yes. I think so far these wildland instructors did a great job. They’ve got their plots set out for the students to come in, so there’s going to be some great training out here. That’s what we’re doing it all for.

ROD AMMON: Everybody’s pretty psyched. I heard you say some numbers. You’ve already got over 200 people coming in.

TOM FEE: Yeah, we’re probably pushing 250 right now.

ROD AMMON: Leave it to you, Tom. Thank you.

TOM FEE: Thank you, appreciate you being here with us, Rod.

ROD AMMON: Glad to be here.

So, I’m walking back to Dr. Babrauskas again, and, well, the burn that is mostly has been set up for him has been completed, and I’m just wondering what you’re thinking.

DR. VYTO BABRAUSKAS: I’m thinking that we’re going to have a good outcome, that there’s going to be a class on Tuesday that is given this field to investigate, and I think we have enough of a good understanding of what happened, and it was – had enough regularity to it that we’re going to be able to have a good outcome of the training class.

ROD AMMON: It’s beautiful. I know a lot of people are excited about what you’re going to write related to this, and I sit here as I’m talking to people and we’re watching flames that out on the distance are probably 15, 20 feet high. It’s amazing. It’s like a war zone.

DR. VYTO BABRAUSKAS: Well, the research objective that’s associated with this is to take a look at the National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group indicators, NWCG indicators and to see how well we can validate them in a realistic test scenario, and I think that’s going to work well.

ROD AMMON: I’m glad to hear that, and again we’re all grateful for your work. Thank you very much, doctor.

DR. VYTO BABRAUSKAS: Thank you.

ROD AMMON: We thank all of the experts and instructors who gave us their time during the burn event to help take you inside what is needed for a wildfire training of this magnitude and how it impacts both research and professional development. We appreciate the invitation from the California Conference of Arson Investigators to join them for the event.

During the last podcast, we promised a part three. We promised to share some footage from before, during, and after the from San Luis Obispo. We edited two pieces. There is a link on this podcast page. Let us know what you think. By the way, we read all of your feedback and appreciate the time each of you takes to check in with us.

Thanks again, and please spread the word to your peers about the podcast. We have some great things coming this year at CFITrainer.net, and we’re grateful again to have received a grant from the FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety grants program. Thanks for joining us today on this podcast. Stay safe. We’ll see you next time on CFITrainer.net. For the IAAI and CFITrainer.net, I’m Rod Ammon.

Bonus Media
2024
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September 2019 Podcast - September '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we travel to San Luis Obispo where we were hosted by the California chapter of the IAAI (CCAI). We had a rare opportunity to experience what it’s like to set up this training and experience a wildland burn in California. There was a lot to learn!
August 2019 Podcast - August '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's CFITrainer.Net podcast is under 15 minutes and offers information about fires in electric vehicles and what you need to know.
May 2019 Podcast - May '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this month's CFITrainer.Net podcast, you'll hear from ATF Special Agent Chad Campanell, who will discuss how ATF can assist state and local fire investigators with training and investigations, ATF resources available to fire investigators, and ATF's support of CFITrainer.Net. Also, we summarize the final report of a multi-fatality fire at a senior living community in Pennsylvania, where ATF cooperated with state and local investigators to reach conclusions.
April 2019 Podcast - April '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. There are two new additions to CFITrainer.Net! A new podcast with Dan Madrzykowski from UL speaking about ventilation and Fire Flow, and a new module called “Fire Flow Analysis”.
March 2019 Podcast - March '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast includes updates from the IAAI related to the election, the upcoming ITC, and a new website specifically about evidence collection. After the updates, you will also hear some news stories related to fire investigation.
February 2019 Podcast - February '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month take 10 mins and hear some fire investigation and IAAI news.
January 2019 Podcast - January '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we’re looking back on some of the biggest issues in fire investigation in 2018.
November 2018 Podcast - November '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk with Jeff Pauley from the IAAI’s Health and Safety Committee. Jeff is an IAAI-CFI and the Chairman of the Health and Safety Committee. In this podcast, he talks about ways to reduce exposure to carcinogens related to fire investigation. By listening, you will learn about ways to reduce your risks, learn about new resources that are available to assist you, and research that is coming soon.
October 2018 Podcast - October '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month meet and learn about IAAI’s new Executive Director, Scott Stephens and plans for the future. After that interview, hear some wild stories from the national news related to fire investigation.
September 2018 News Roundup - September '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts.
Short stories related to fire investigation - June '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. Join us for a brief Podcast that includes five minutes of short stories related to fire investigation.
What you need to know about Arson Awareness week - April '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we welcome Tonya Hoover, the Superintendent of the National Fire Academy. Superintendent Hoover came to the NFA with more than 20 years of experience in local and state government, most recently as the California State Fire Marshal.
Growing pot and earning Bitcoin can start fires? - March '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this month’s podcast, hear a story about how the Bitcoin business might be causing fires? What similarities are there between Pot growers and now Bitcoin miners?
Training related to wildland fire investigation - February '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast highlights new training related to wildland fire investigation featuring an interview with Paul Way, and this year’s International Training Conference. We also have a pretty wild story before we wrap up. Birds starting fires?
Smart homes and digital data gathering issues - December '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this podcast, we discuss two topics on the technology and forensics cutting edge. Michael Custer of Kilgore Engineering, Inc. and retired Special Agent Tully Kessler share some knowledge and give us a taste of the classes that they will be presenting at ITC 2018.
Discussion with Writer Monica Hesse - September '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this podcast, you will hear some great news related to the IAAI and CFITrainer.Net and then we have an interview with Monica Hesse, the writer of a new book called "American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land."
Discussion with Criminalist- John DeHaan - June '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month on the CFITrainer.Net podcast, we talk to Criminalist, fire investigation expert and Author of "Kirk’s Fire Investigation", John DeHaan.
The Ghost Ship - May '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. For this podcast, we hear from a retired Captain of the Long Beach Fire Department, Pat Wills. Pat has been in the fire service for 37 years. He has been a leader and an investigator, now he is an educator speaking around the country about the importance of code enforcement.
Fast Podcast about ITC! - March '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to David Bridges about what to expect at ITC and the training you won’t want to miss.
CFITrainer Podcast- A profile with an IAAI-CFI® - February '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. Join us this month for our podcast as we interview IAAI member and CFI, Jeff Spaulding from Middletown, Ohio. Jeff talks about his work in both the public and private sector and then he shares an interesting story about how a pacemaker is helping in an investigation.
An interview with Dr. James Quintiere - December '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In a discussion with Dr. James Quintiere, we learn about some of his work in fire sciences, a bit about his research, his opinions related to the World Trade Center investigation and what he thinks is important to fire investigation as a scholarly leader in our field.
Fire Investigation After the Flood Podcast - November '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to Dan Hebert, an IAAI, CFI about "How Floods affect Fire Investigation."
September 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - September '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk about the recent changes in the FAA's regulations for commercial and public sector use of UAS or "Drones".
August 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - August '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to Jessica Gotthold about the Seaside Heights fire in NJ from 2013
July 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - July '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to Fire Marshall, Ken Helms of the Enid, OK. Fire Department about his team winning the Fire Investigator of the Year award.
March 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - March '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's fire investigation podcast from the IAAI's CFITrainer.Net focuses on the Youth Firesetting Information Repository and Evaluation System, which is called YFIRES for short.
February 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - February '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's fire investigation podcast from the IAAI's CFITrainer.Net focuses on what you need to do to ensure the integrity of samples sent to the lab. A conversation with Laurel Mason of Analytical Forensic Associates.
September 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - September '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. Our podcast related to the legalization of recreational marijuana and its effect on fire investigation was one of the most popular podcasts ever on CFITrainer.Net. This month’s podcast is a follow up with one of our listeners from California who is an investigator doing training on this very topic.
August 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - August '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast is about NFIRS where we interview the Executive Director of The National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation, Jim Narva.
July 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - July '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this special edition of podcast we’re going to meet the newest IAAI Investigator of the Year, Andrea Buchanan.
May 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - May '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's Arson Investigator podcast from IAAI & CFITrainer interviews Jason McPherson from MSD Engineering to talk about some of these new technology tools.
April 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - April '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's Arson Investigator podcast from IAAI & CFITrainer interviews Dave Perry, a lawyer in Colorado discussing what fire chiefs, fire investigators, and the legal system are seeing in a state with legalized cannabis in regard to fire cause involving marijuana.
February 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - Feb '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's Arson Investigator podcast from IAAI & CFITrainer interviews Mike Schlatman and Steve Carman who are both successful fire investigators and now business owners who have transitioned from the public to the private sector.
December 2014 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - December '14 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast interviews Steve Avato from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explaining the process of elimination and how it is a critical part of the scientific method.
June 2014 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - June '14 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast interviews the 2014 Investigator of the Year.
April 2014 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - April '14 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast interviews with Don Robinson, Special Agent in Charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Currently stationed at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research, located at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
January 2014 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - January '14 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast takes a look inside the process of revising NFPA 921 and NFPA 1033.
October 2013 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - October '13 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast focuses on the fire research work of Underwriters’ Laboratories, better known as UL.
February 2013 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - February '13 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we have an interview with George Codding who returned from a recent trip to Saipan and gives us a closer look at the international activities of the International Association of Arson Investigators
Mid Year 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - Mid Year '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This podcast features a mid-year update on the IAAI’s new initiatives and ways for you to get more involved with the organization.
September 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - September '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an in-depth look at the recent live-burn fire experiments exercise conducted on Governor’s Island, New York by the New York City Fire Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Underwriters Laboratory, and the Trust for Governor’s Island.
August 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - August '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This is a special edition of the CFITrainer.Net podcast previewing the ITC 2013. There’s a new name for the Annual Training Conference from the IAAI now called the International Training conference.
April 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - April '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with Chief Ernest Mitchell, Jr., the US Fire Administrator. Also we will discuss the upcoming ATC, Annual Training Conference, from the IAAI about to happen in Dover, Delaware.
March 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - March '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with ATF Special Agent Billy Malagassi out of the Tulsa, OK Field Office about investigating fires in clandestine drug labs. We also report on NIST’s findings in the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire and IAAI’s Evidence Collection Practicum.
December 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - December '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features one of the presenters from this year’s IAAI ATC and see how a single photo broke the Provo Tabernacle fire case.
October 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - October '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with Deborah Nietch, the new Executive Director of IAAI.
July 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - July '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with Tom Fee discussing details of investigating wildland fires.
June 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - June '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features a lot of exciting things that are happening at CFITrainer.Net
May 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - May '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month highlights the IAAI ATC in Las Vegas and the third installment in the "It Could Happen to You" series.
ATC 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - This podcast discusses the upcoming IAAI Annual Training Conference and National Arson Awareness Week.
April 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - April '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This podcast announces the release of the program, The First Responder’s Role in Fire Investigation, which teaches first responders how to make critical observations and take important scene preservation actions at a fire scene.
March 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - March '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features some of the instructors from the upcoming 2011 Annual Training Conference, to provide a preview of the courses they will be presenting.
February 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - February '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features an update on fire grants and an interview with Steve Austin
January 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - January '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features the release of the new edition of Fire Investigator: Principles and Practice to NFPA 921 and 1033, new flammability requirements from UL for pre-lit artificial Christmas trees and a growing fire problem in Dubai with factories turned into worker dormitories.
December 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - December '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast focuses on home candle fires, lightning punctures in gas piping, and respiratory diseases in the fire services.
November 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - November '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features research findings for structural stability in engineered lumber by UL, the ban on antifreeze in residential sprinkler systems, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigation of Jeep Grand Cherokee fuel tanks.
October 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - October '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features high-profile fire cases, why people leave stovetop cooking unattended and how new sensors under development may improve fire research.
September 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - September '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features how to use the ATF’s Bomb Arson Tracking System, IAAI Foundation grants, electrical fires and indoor marijuana cultivation.
August 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - August '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast focuses on social media as a fire investigation tool, a potential problem with modular home glued ceilings and research from Underwriters Laboratories on the effects of ventilation on structure fires.
July 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - July '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast is a roundtable on some of the latest research and technical activities that impact fire investigation, featuring Daniel Madrzykowski (moderator), Steven Kerber, and Dr. Fred Mowrer.
June 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - June '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast discusses career advancement, budget cuts and their impact on fire investigation, and the 2010-2016 ATF Strategic Plan.
ATC 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - Follow-up and Interviews from Orlando. Learn about the conference, hear what attendees had to say.
May 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - May '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. The second in our safety series called "It Could Happen To You." Our Long-Term Exposure roundtable is moderated by Robert Schaal.
April 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - April '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. The first of our two-part safety series called "It Could Happen To You." Our roundtable is moderated by Robert Schaal.
March 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - March '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features a conversation about legislative affairs affecting the fire service with Bill Webb, Executive Director of the Congressional Fire Services Research Institute.
February 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - February '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features our interview with a commercial kitchen’s fire expert about what you need to know when you work a commercial kitchen fire.
January 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - January '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features a look at preliminary research on corrosion caused by Chinese drywall, a new database focused on fires in historic buildings, a warning on blown-in insulation, and the launch of the new firearson.com web site.
December 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - December '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features cooking fires, highlights of the International Code Council’s Annual Meeting on code requirements, including requiring residential sprinkler systems, and an easy way to keep up with recalls from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
November 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - November '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features chimney fires, including recent news on surgical flash fires, a proposed national arsonist registry, lightning research and an innovation in personal protective equipment.
October 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - October '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast is devoted to Fire Prevention Week.
September 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - September '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features the relationship between climate conditions and fire risk, new research on formulating fireproof walls and the latest in IAAI news.
August 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - August '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month takes a look at the dangerous combination of summer heat and oily rags, the rise in vacant home fires, and preview research underway on Australia’s devastating "Black Saturday" brush fires.
July 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - July '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month features a look at outdoor grill fires, a fatal fire at a homeless camp in Southern NJ, new NIST research on human behavior during building fires, and IAAI news.
June 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - June '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features live reports from the 2009 IAAI Annual Training Conference held in May.
May 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - May '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This podcast is dedicated to National Arson Awareness Week.
April 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - April '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features the NFPA 921 chapter on marine fire investigations and the myth and reality of static electricity as a source of ignition.
March 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - March '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month focuses on the rise of the hybrid vehicle and what its unique engineering means for the investigation of vehicle fires, the rash of devastating arson fires in Coatesville, Pennsylvania from December 2008 to February 2009, and news from IAAI.
January 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - January '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast focuses on the deepening financial crisis in the US and arson for profit fires, how going green may pose a fire hazard and see how rope lighting may be a source of ignition, and IAAI’s Expert Witness Courtroom Testimony course.
December 2008 CFITrainer.Net Podcast - December '08 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features Christmas tree fires, changes to critical fire investigation publications, the weak economy’s impact on home fires, wind’s effect on structure fires, and ATC 2009.