Welcome to IAAI’s September 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast. This month’s podcast covers a diverse range of topics: how to use the ATF’s Bomb Arson Tracking System, grant opportunities from the IAAI Foundation, the link between electrical fires and indoor marijuana cultivation, and insight on why people leave stovetop cooking unattended. Let’s jump right in.

Earlier this year, we caught up with ATF Special Agent Dino Ballos, who was attending ATC 2010. Agent Ballos is assigned to ATF’s Bomb Data Center and has critical information on how fire investigators can take advantage of the Bomb Arson Tracking System, or BATS. Let’s listen.

DINO BALLOS: BATS is a case management and information sharing system that gives fire investigation units and bomb squads throughout the country case management technology to document any fire, any explosion investigation and they can also search for case similarities nationwide for potential links.

Q: How did BATS come about?

DINO BALLOS: Well BATS started based on ATF’s designation as the country’s sole repository for arson and explosives incident information. It was developed by agents and investigators for investigators and agents and serves as a direct link for state and local law enforcement and fire service as a direct link to the U.S. Bomb Data Center.

Q: How does somebody get access?

DINO BALLOS: Well the great thing about BATS is, A), it’s free, it’s also web based and agencies and users that are interested can start the process online. The website is www.BATS.gov. So it’s free and they can start the application online.

Q: How do they learn how to use it?

DINO BALLOS: Well, we’ve been conducting live training throughout the country as we’re doing here at the annual training conference, but we’re also scheduling live training through our local ATF offices. Any agency that’s interested in hosting BATS training, as long as you can find a computer lab, a community college, police academy, fire academy with computers, we can schedule live training. And also, we have an infomercial website at BATS.gov where potential users could take a virtual tour and click on our frequently asked questions, and it’s a real good area to start off with BATS.

Q: How many people are using it and where?

DINO BALLOS: Well, we’ve had a tremendous increase in applications. There are over a thousand agencies currently right now participating in BATS. And we’ve also recently opened up BATS to the entire fire service agency on the public safety side. So a significant amount of increase and it’s web based and free.

Also at ATC, we had the opportunity to talk with Bill Schmitt, President of the IAAI Foundation, about recent changes at the Foundation and about grant opportunities available to IAAI chapters and members. Here are the details.

BILL SCHMITT: Well, we’re pretty excited about the Foundation. We’ve got a new start. We merged the former Education Foundation with the IAAI’s Foundation. We have a board now that’s comprised of elected officials instead of appointed board. We think that’s going to be good. It’s going to give us a clear approach to our mission, which is to support the chapters, the IAAI and the individual members in providing opportunities that are not afforded through our budget with the IAAI. So I’m looking forward to taking it to the next level and trying to recruit outside influence that will bring some funding in, that will help us with our missions to provide training throughout the world, and I want to take it to that next level with a real great group of people this year that we’ve got on the board.

Well we’ve already started issuing some grant money to various chapters. For example, the New Jersey Chapter applied for funds to build a burn cell that they’re going to be conducting tests and fire scene examinations and a whole gamut of things that pertain to fire investigation. That facility will be in New Jersey, but it will be available to any other IAAI members or chapters that wish to go down there and get involved in an exercise with that facility.

Q: How does somebody get a grant?

BILL SCHMITT: They need to make an application and the application is a proposal of what you intend to do, what are the logistics of your grant as far as resources needed and the intention of how it will benefit the IAAI and its mission. We are working on specific guidelines and we hope to have those posted very shortly, but that’s generally what we’re going to be looking for.

Q: What kind of opportunities are out there for public and private industry to be able to get money into the Foundation, the support.

BILL SCHMITT: That’s the unknown at this time. We’re actually considering looking for someone that may be interested in working on our behalf to apply for grants, and certainly that they might have an opportunity to manage those grants and help us gather funding. We need to make some inroads with some corporate sponsors and see what kind of partnerships we can have. I’ve had some discussions this week with some people. We’re talking about partnering up with some higher education groups and offering benefits back to the members as a way to help out, and I guess that’s what we’re looking to do. We’re looking to partner with people that will give a benefit back to our organization and its members.

Now, we turn to the news.

As more and more states legalize marijuana used for medical purposes, the number of legal marijuana growers is increasing. The marijuana growing industry is largely unregulated—in fact, dispensaries often refuse to say who their suppliers are. The growing business is lucrative and attracts small-scale growers. In Oakland, California alone, just four retail marijuana dispensaries did $28 million of business in 2009. To keep up with demand, indoor marijuana growing is on the rise, and with it has come the problem of electrical fires due to improperly wired indoor growing equipment. In one incident in Granada Hills, California, firefighters responding to the blaze found 200 marijuana plants in a garage full of grow lights that were hooked up to wires that bypassed the home’s electric meter, an arrangement that apparently sparked an electrical fire. Another fire, this one in a Rancho Cordova apartment, was caused by an overloaded electrical system supplying power to the legal and properly permitted indoor growing operation. In fact, the Oakland, California Fire Department blames a dramatic rise in the number of electrical fires between 2006 and 2009 in part to marijuana being grown indoors with improperly wired fans and lights. A Sacramento Metro Fire spokesman confirmed the same in his jurisdiction. As medical marijuana legislation is passed in more and more states, fire investigators should be ahead of the curve in understanding the potential for electrical fires at small-scale indoor growing facilities, many of which are in single family homes and apartments.

October is approaching, and with it comes Fire Prevention Week. Fire Prevention Week offers an excellent opportunity for fire investigators and the fire service to educate their communities in fire safety. This year’s theme is "Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With." Community education resources are available from a variety of sources, including:

• NFPA.org
• FireSafety.gov
• SafeTBear.org
• USFA.DHS.gov
• InterFIRE.org
• Scholastic.com/FireSafety
• BeFireSmart.com
• SafeSleep.org

Finally, we close with news from IAAI

The International Association of Arson Investigators is providing a new benefit for its members. Effective August of this year anyone who is an active, associate, or life member of IAAI is covered by a $10,000 Death and Dismemberment Insurance Policy. This new member benefit has been added with no increase in the annual cost of $75 for membership in the association. If you are a member and have a unique situation that would affect your choice of a beneficiary you should provide this information on a form found on the website.

This insurance benefit is added to the existing benefits which include a subscription to the Fire and Arson Investigator Magazine, discounts on IAAI training classes and credential applications including the Certified Arson Investigator (IAAI - CFI) and the Fire Investigation Technician (IAAI - FIT).

Information about the insurance program including copies of the policy can be found by going to the IAAI website at www.firearson.com.

That concludes this IAAI CFITrainer.Net podcast. We’ll see you again next month.