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. We’ve got something a bit different today. We don’t have a guest with me, but I guess in a way, we’ll make you the guest. Later in the podcast, we’re going to look for your help in developing new content focused on sharing recent information shared by you. Recently, our writer came across a feature-length article on Politico titled “This is What Happens When Bitcoin Miners Take Over Your Town.” We’ve got a link on it to—we’ve got a link to that story, anyway, on the podcast page so you can check it out. You may not have heard of bitcoin, or you may have heard of it, but you don’t know a whole lot about it, so just bear with us for a second and I promise we’ll get to the fire investigation part. Bitcoin is a virtual currency launched in 2009 by someone or someones using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin are used to buy and sell goods and services, primarily over the Internet. Although the use is not widespread compared to hard currency, bitcoin is popular among techies and, if we’re being very truthful, has some attraction for criminals because tracing transactions is rather difficult. New bitcoin are released into circulation regularly via a complicated process, which you can read about in the article, that’s called “mining.” In order to mine bitcoin, which essentially means earning bitcoin by contributing to the recording of bitcoin transactions, you need powerful computers. And the more servers you have, the more computing power you can throw at recording those transactions, and the more bitcoin you can earn for doing so. All that computing power requires a lot of electricity to run the servers. The cost of that electricity can be significant overhead. Unless you locate the servers somewhere with cheap electricity. And that’s where we come to the fire investigation issue.
Buried in this long article that’s mostly about what happens when your community has the cheap electricity that attracts bitcoin mining operations, is a brief mention of an incident where a bitcoin mining facility, which is a huge room with a lot of computers and a heavy-duty air conditioning system to keep them cool, overloaded a transformer and caused a brush fire. And that’s what caught our writer’s interest. In this part of the Pacific Northwest, a region of eastern Washington on the Columbia River known as the Mid-Columbia Basin, they have a unique fire cause issue that exists in only a handful of communities in the world. Because of the local industry of bitcoin mining facilities, thanks to the availability of cheap electricity from hydroelectric power dams on the Columbia River, overloaded transformers, jury-rigged server farms inside homes overloading circuits, and fan and A/C unit electrical malfunctions can all be triggered by excessive power demand from the servers and their cooling systems. The article describes local utility crews hunting for unpermitted bitcoin miners in places like residential homes — which sounds a lot like a previous podcast we did on fire departments finding unlicensed indoor marijuana grow facilities when jury-rigged power caused a fire. These utility crews look for spikes in power used outside what is typical for that type of structure and fans venting out of weird places in the structure.
This, plus the marijuana growing issues we’ve covered previously here on the podcast, got us thinking about the fact that there are maybe many of these unique local fire cause issues and we’re turning to you to learn more about them. If you have an unusual issue in fire causes or fire investigation that your community faces, we want to hear about it. Chances are, there’s another community out there, even if it’s across the globe, facing a similar issue, and we want to feature some of these situations on the podcast in the future so that we can learn from each other. So, please, take a minute to reach out to us and tell us what you’re dealing with in your community. You can use the feedback form on this page. After that, you might want to sit down with a cup of coffee and read that article about bitcoin mining — it’s a fascinating piece.
A quick update to this story. Just saw another posting based on a story from “motherboard from Vice” The city of Plattsburgh, NY has imposed an 18-month ban on bitcoin mining to prevent miners from using all of the city’s cheap electricity. The story quotes Mayor Colin Read after some local residents were complaining about their electricity bills. The mayor says : “I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints that electric bills have gone up by $100 or $200,” Read said. “You can understand why people are upset.” The city and local miners are working on a solution that would have the miners paying overages, but what about the potential fire hazards if the miners don’t follow code? I’m sure there is more to come in this case. The story does not claim that any of the current bitcoin miners are avoiding code requirements.
Finally, just a brief reminder that we’re only two months away from IAAI’s 2018 ITC in Frisco, Texas. If you haven’t already, check out the schedule and the instructors at iaaiitc.com.
That concludes this podcast. Stay safe. Be careful how you get involved in bitcoin, and we’ll see you next time on CFITrainer.Net. For the IAAI and CFITrainer.Net, I’m Rod Ammon.
This is What Happens When Bitcoin Miners Take Over Your Town.
Tell us about a fire cause or fire investigation issue facing your community.
IAAI 2018 ITC
This program provides a primer on accreditation, certification, and certificates for fire investigation training.
A fire occurred on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, in The Station nightclub at 211 Cowesett Avenue, West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Arc Mapping, or Arc Fault Circuit Analysis, uses the electrical system to help reconstruct a scene, providing investigators with a means of determining the area of a fire’s origin.
This module introduces basic electrical concepts, including: terminology, atomic theory and electricity, Ohm’s Law, Joule’s Law, AC and DC power.
A fire occurred on the evening of June 18, 2007, in the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, SC that resulted in the deaths of nine fire fighters.
This module looks at the many ways fire investigators enter and grow in the profession through academia, the fire service, law enforcement, insurance, and engineering.
This module will present a description of the IAAI organization.
This module takes a closer look at four of the most commonly-reported accidental fire causes according to "NFPA Fact Sheet.
This program brings three highly experienced fire investigators and an attorney with experience as a prosecutor and civil litigator together for a round table discussion.
The program discusses the basics of digital photography for fire investigators as well as software and editing procedures for digital images intended as evidence.
This self-paced program is an introduction to discovery in civil proceedings such as fire loss claims and product defect lawsuits.
This self-paced program is an introduction to discovery in criminal proceedings.
This module covers the foundation of DNA evidence: defining, recognizing, collecting, and testing.
This program provides a practical overview of how to perform the baseline documentation tasks that occur at every scene.
This module will discuss the techniques and strategies for conducting a proper science-based fire scene investigation and effectively presenting an investigator’s findings in court as an expert witness.
This module presents critical electrical safety practices that every fire investigator should implement at every scene, every time.
This self-paced program examines the fire investigator's ethical duties beyond the fire scene.
As social media has emerged as a powerful force in interpersonal communications, fire investigators are being confronted with new questions...
Should you work for a private lab as a consultant if you are on an Arson Task Force? How about accepting discounts from the local hardware store as a “thanks” for a job well done on a fire they had last year?
This module takes investigators into the forensic laboratory and shows them what happens to the different types of fire scene evidence that are typically submitted for testing.
This module teaches the foundational knowledge of explosion dynamics, which is a necessary precursor to investigating an explosion scene.
This module addresses the foundations of fire chemistry and places it within the context of fire scene investigations.
The program is designed to introduce a new Palm/Pocket PC application called CFI Calculator to users and provide examples of how it can be used by fire investigators in the field.
This module examines these concepts to help all professionals tasked with determining fire origin and cause better understand fire flow dynamics so they can apply that knowledge to both to fire investigation and to fire attack.
This module provides a road map for fire officers to integrate and navigate their fire investigation duty with all their other responsibilities and describes where to obtain specific training in fire investigation.
The evaluation of hazards and the assessment of the relative risks associated with the investigation of fires and explosions are critical factors in the management of any investigation.
This module will describe the most commonly encountered fire protection systems.
This module presents best practices in preparing for and conducting the informational interview with witnesses in the fire investigation case.
This module provides instruction on the fundamentals of residential building construction with an eye toward how building construction affects fire development.
This module teaches first responders, including fire, police and EMS, how to make critical observations.
This program discusses how to access insurance information, understand insurance documents, ask key questions of witnesses, and apply the information learned.
This module offers a basic introduction about how some selected major appliances operate.
This program introduces the fire investigator to the issues related to the collection, handling and use of evidence related to a fire investigation.
This program takes you inside the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) archives of some of the most interesting and instructive test burns and fire model simulations they have ever conducted.
The program provides foundational background on the scope of the youth-set fire problem, the importance of rigorous fire investigation in addressing this problem, and the role of key agencies in the response to a youth-set fire.
This module provides a thorough understanding of the ways an investigation changes when a fire-related death occurs.
This self-paced program will help you understand what to expect at a fire where an LODD has occurred, what your role is, how to interact with others, and how to handle special circumstances at the scene.
This program will introduce the fire investigator to the basic methodologies use to investigate vehicle fires.
This module presents the role natural gas can play in fire ignition, fuel load, and spread; the elements of investigating a fire in a residence where natural gas is present; and the potential role the gas utility or the municipality can play an investigation.
This self-paced program covers fundamental legal aspects of investigating youth-set fires, including the juvenile justice system, legalities of interviews and interrogations, arson statutes, search and seizure, and confidentiality.
This program discusses the latest developments in expert testimony under the Daubert standard, including the MagneTek case recently decided in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals.
This module focuses on how to manage investigations that have “complicating” factors.
This module uses the Motive, Means, and Opportunity case study to demonstrate how responsibility is determined in an arson case.
This program covers the general anatomy of a motor vehicle and a description of typical components of the engine, electrical, ignition, and fuel systems.
This self-paced program is the second part of a two-part basic introduction to motor vehicle systems. This program describes the function and major components of the transmission, exhaust, brake, and accessory systems.
This module educates the investigator about NFPA 1033’s importance, its requirements, and how those requirements impact the fire investigator’s professional development.
This module reviews the major changes included in the documents including the use of color photos in NFPA 921 and additional material that supports the expanded required knowledge list in NFPA 1033 Section 1.3.7.
The program illustrates for the fire investigator, how non-traditional fire scene evidence can be helpful during an investigation.
This module introduces the postflashover topic, describes ventilation-controlled fire flow, illustrates how the damage left by a postflashover can be significantly different than if that fire was extinguished preflashover.
This module lays the groundwork for understanding marine fires by covering four basic concepts that the investigator must understand before investigating a marine fire.
In this module, you will learn more about how cancer develops, what occupational exposure risks to carcinogens exist at fire scenes, and how to better protect yourself against those exposures.
The use of the process of elimination in the determination of a fire cause is a topic that has generated significant discussion and controversy in the fire investigation profession.
This module teaches the basics of the electrical power generation, distribution, and transmission system.
This module presents the basics of natural gas and its uses and system components in a residence.
This module explains the principles of search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, as contained in the amendment and according to subsequent case law, and applies them to typical fire scene scenarios.
One of the legal proceedings that may require the fire investigator to testify is a deposition. Depositions are often related to civil proceedings, but more and more jurisdictions are using them in criminal cases.
Deposing attorneys employ a variety of tactics to learn about the expert witness giving testimony, to try to unsettle that witness to see how he/she handles such pressure, and to probe for weaknesses to exploit.
This module provides introductory information on the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard – 29 CFR 1910.120.
The program examines the importance of assessing the impact of ventilation on a fire.
This module demonstrates the investigative potential of information stored on electronic devices.
This module explains the relationship between NFPA 1033 and NFPA 921
The basics of the scientific method are deceptively simple: observe, hypothesize, test, and conclude.
This module addresses the foundations of thermometry, including the definition of temperature, the scales used to measure temperature and much more.
This program presents the results of flame experiments conducted with a candle.
This self-paced program explains to non-investigators the role of the fire investigator, what the fire investigator does, how the fire investigator is trained, what qualifications the fire investigator must meet.
This module will untangle the meanings of "undetermined," straighten out how to use the term correctly, talk about how not to use it, and describe how to properly report fires where "undetermined" is the cause or classification.
This module will advise fire investigators on how to approach the fact-finding procedures necessary and validate a hypothesis.
This module provides an overview on how structures can become vacant and eventually abandoned.
This self-paced program provides a basic framework for structuring the management of fire cases and fire investigators.
This module illustrates how wildland fires spread, explains how to interpret burn patterns unique to these types of fires.
This module presents the key elements of the initial origin and cause report and methods of clearly presenting findings in a professional manner.