ROD: Welcome to the IAAI CFITrainer.Net podcast for August 2012. This is a special edition of the CFITrainer.Net podcast. We’ll be looking to a preview of ITC 2013. That’s right. There’s a new name for the annual training conference from the IAAI. It is now called the International Training Conference because of so many people and so much involvement from around the globe.

So, planning for the ITC 2013 in Orlando, Florida from May 5th through the 10th 2013 has already been underway for some time. 120 hours of in-person training will be delivered from top experts. You’ll be able to have relation-building opportunities, personal interaction with colleagues and there will also be an exhibit floor.

With us today is Bob Toth. He is the committee chair for the 2013 ITC. How are you Bob?

BOB TOTH: I’m very good Rod, and you?

ROD: I’m doing well. Thanks for being with us today. We really appreciate you taking the time to give us a little bit of a preview. So, why don’t you do that? What’s going on? I know things haven’t been nailed down and they’ll be released in the upcoming few months, but can you give us a little preview of the types of courses that may be part of ITC 2013?

BOB TOTH: Absolutely. The committee’s been working hard to make sure that we address all the needs of investigators and any other subject matter experts that may be involved in any type of fire investigation. We’ve got a couple of topics that we’re working on that seem to be some hot button issues. Of course, by the time the ITC comes around next year, the new edition of NFPA 1033 will be out. Of course, we want to spend some time bringing everyone up to speed on the new requirements of that particular standard. We are also working with individuals to develop classes on protocol development and scene safety, and how do you develop protocols for everyone that may be involved in some of these losses? Everyone from the public agency, fire department, to police departments, to the insurance industry and private investigators and how do you all work together and conduct your concurrent and parallel investigations? And how do you develop protocols to address all of those subtle differences that you see from fire to fire? We’re going to be talking about a systematic analysis of witness statements and how you can use that analysis and all those witness statements to help you reconstruct the fire scene.

One big topic that seems to be growing over the past few years is the ventilation patterns and building constructions and how those affect the dynamics, if you will, in a compartment fire. And there’s a host of other things. We’re also looking at - we have an instructor, very well-known instructor around the country coming to discuss narrative-based interview techniques. That applies to everyone involved in any type of fire investigations. And for those that have gone to past training conferences held by the IAAI, we have a full week with Jim Allen and Joe Konefal. That entire week has some great topics that are going to be presented by Jim and Joe. That particular week the title of their presentation is going to be "921 and 1033: Meeting the Challenges for Today’s Investigators." And they will take those two documents and through the course of the week discuss very important hot button issues, and I think it’s important for people to know that that entire track is not necessarily a track that you must commit to every day of that particular week. It’s - I attended two or three days of it last year just because of the particular topics they were talking about, so I would encourage investigators and adjusters and law enforcement people to say look at this schedule. If they see something on that particular day and that particular class that Jim and Joe are discussing, perhaps spoliation issues or evidence collection, they welcome you with open arms to come in on that particular day to learn the latest on those techniques relative to what 921 and 1033 are requiring.

ROD: That’s a really good point because having that versatility. I know that week can be crazy because you’re trying to get to so many places, so being able to pop in and focus on something that you want to do is a really good point.

BOB TOTH: You’re absolutely right. We’ve got - we’re going to be pushing nearly 120 hours of possible training for our attendees and there’s no reason you couldn’t find 40 hours of training through that week to meet your specific needs.

ROD: Excellent. So now I’m going to ask you something that is a total common sense - sounds like common sense, but why should fire investigators attend ITC 2013?

BOB TOTH: It’s a great deal - and not just fire investigators. I really want to emphasize the fact that this training conference is not just for fire investigators, but it’s for the other subject matter experts that work with fire investigators and the other disciplines and the other industries out there that hire fire investigators. There will be topics that address all of those needs. The legal community, attorneys that may hire investigators or other subject matter experts to help them decipher their findings in a fire investigation and identify those - the origin, the cause and the circumstances that led to that fire and ultimately identify what may be responsible for that fire.

Obviously, law enforcement, when you can start to consider the criminal aspects of some fires, and that particular component of fire investigations, there will be classes there as well for that industry. Unlike other training conferences out there that may have a week of courses, some of them may not apply directly to your particular focus in a fire investigation, here we have so many hours available to you and you have so many opportunities to network with everyone and to learn during the week. You’re not going to find a more robust opportunity to find all of that training.

ROD: You know, Bob, already you’ve mentioned some of the other professionals besides fire investigators that benefit from ITC 2013, can you talk a little bit about what we’re doing for the insurance industry?

BOB TOTH: People involved in the private investigation or the insurance industry, everyone from the adjuster to the subrogation attorney. We will have a week long track of training for them as well to discuss things such as the latest case laws and how it may affect their approaches to fire investigations and how it may affect who they have to hire to assist them in the investigation of a fire. We’ll also discuss other topics that are specific to the needs of our investigators and the insurance industry in particular.

ROD: Why is it worth the money for me to be there, whether I’m public or private? I mean, public we obviously have budget issues, and in private, frankly, there’s a lot of folks that are dealing with tighter budgets all the time. Pitch why it’s worth the dollars.

BOB TOTH: Well, you’re absolutely right. I mean, every industry at this point in time is under these budget crunches and they really have to spend their dollar wisely. The IAAI, for years now, has focused on bringing the best and the brightest presenters in one location, and when we’ve done that we have basically inundated everyone that’s involved in fire investigations with, in this case, over 100 hours of training opportunity. We’ve brought them all into one location. We’ve brought them into convenient locations that’s easy to get to. And it becomes highly cost effective. When we bring all of these people to one location, and you can come to one location and meet with them and choose, you can get an entire week of training that is specific to your needs, rather than, as I said earlier, where you may find certain days or certain topics that aren’t germane, you should have no problem at all filling your entire week of training, which is good from a company’s management perspective. They want to know that if they’re sending you out to one of these international training conferences that you’re going to spending the lion’s share of your time receiving training and education that are specific to your job requirements and you will be able to bring that back and put that to work instantly once you return to the office.

ROD: Really, really good points. It seems like not only is it a great training conference, and we talk about networking opportunities and things, but I want people in public and private sector to be able to say - and I think they can now - when I go to this thing, I’m not just doing training, but when I turn around there are folks behind me, beside me, in the next room that I may need throughout the year that are not only going to save us money but they’re going to be a resource that helps me do my case better and I think that’s something great that you’ve helped put together.

One of the things I wanted to wrap up with was related to courtroom, and a lot of time I think if you’re not ready, if you don’t have the training background, you’re going to get shredded and you’re going to have a real problem. You may, whether you’re public sector, just fall down on the case, or if you’re private sector you may not be protecting your client or yourself or your investigation well. Can you speak to that, and specifically talk about a situation, maybe one where I think a lot of guys think, you know, I just don’t end up testifying and I think maybe they get surprised.

BOB TOTH: You’re absolutely right. Courts really don’t care about any reasons that you don’t have - or you couldn’t get to training or whatever the case may be. They don’t want to hear excuses, they want to make sure that when you’re doing a fire investigation and you’re coming before that judge and jury, you better be an expert. And there are documents out there that identify what that expert should know, and currently that document, that standard is NFPA 1033, and if you don’t meet those requirements and you don’t qualify to testify, you, your testimony and your investigation are going to be thrown out the window and barred from being presented to the judge or the jury, and suddenly that creates obviously a - an incredible hardship for any opportunity for continuing that particular portion of a fire investigation, the testimony part, if all of that stuff is thrown out.

That’s very important to appreciate and to understand. You don’t want to give the other side an opportunity to question your credentials. 1033 is that document that is being used to question your credentials and it has a long list of post-secondary education requirements that are necessary to qualify and to meet the standard, and that’s very important, the standard of NFPA 1033. You can demonstrate that you’re remaining current and meet those requirements of 1033 by attending courses that we make available at the ITC every year.

ROD: And I just want to reiterate, because I hear it from so many of you guys, to our listeners, guys and gals, that they weren’t really expecting some of the things that happen to them in the courtroom and it can be a career changing event, especially because it doesn’t happen every day to some folks who are in the public sector, and well, I think it’s a great opportunity. I’ve become a believer over working with you guys for the years. Thanks very much for your time Bob.

BOB TOTH: It’s always a pleasure Rod. It’s good to talk with you.

ROD: Now is the time to register for ITC 2013 at the special reduced early bird rate. For details visit IAAIITC.com. That’s a change from last year. Again, because it’s the International Training Conference now. Go to www.IAAIITC.com. That concludes this IAAI CFITrainer.Net podcast. Don’t forget to check out the links on this podcast page for more information on all of our stories. We’ll see you again next month. For CFITrainer and the IAAI, I’m Rod Ammon.