New Multi-Program Certificate in Fire Investigation Safety

The International Association of Arson Investigators is pleased to announce that CFITrainer.Net has launched a new multi-program certificate, "Fire Investigation Safety," to help personnel who participate in the investigation of fire scenes improve their skills in core safety principles and practices. A diverse array of professionals — not just people with the title “fire investigator” — work at fire scenes, including evidence technicians, forensic chemists, law enforcement officers, insurance adjusters, remediation experts, and attorneys. Many of these professionals, and including some fire investigators, do not get the post-fire scene safety training that fire service members with fire suppression responsibilities do. Completing this certificate provides a foundational introduction to safety topics that will help fill this knowledge and skills training gap, like occupational exposures, respiratory hazards, site safety assessment, hazard identification, hazard mitigation methods, electrical safety, HAZWOPER, and proper selection and use of personal protective equipment.

Registered users who complete nine CFITrainer.Net programs related to safety at post-fire scenes will earn the Fire Investigation Safety Certificate:
  • Electrical Safety
  • Fire Investigator Scene Safety
  • Fundamentals of Residential Building Construction
  • Personal Protective Equipment for Post-Fire Scenes
  • Photovoltaic Cells & Systems
  • Preventing Occupational Exposures to Carcinogens at the Fire Scene
  • Site Safety Assessment
  • The HAZWOPER Standard
  • Vacant and Abandoned Buildings: Hazards and Solutions

To complete each program required for the Fire Investigation Safety multi-program certificate, view all the sections of each required module, complete the required readings, and pass the Skills Challenge test. Once all modules have been completed, a downloadable certificate will become available on the certificate's main page, which can be accessed from the User Dashboard entry for the certificate or from the Multi-Program Certificates page. The multi-program certificate, once completed, is also added to the transcript. You must be logged into CFITrainer.Net to earn the certificate.

The injury and fatality hazards in the modern post-fire environment, organizational health and safety program requirements, and NFPA health and safety standards make robust hazard identification and mitigation critical for all professionals who work at fire scenes. The required modules for the CFITrainer.Net Fire Scene Safety Certificate present practical information that you can immediately use on scene.

The new certificate is available now. The certificate is free, supported by a Fire Prevention & Safety Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Some users may discover that they actually have already earned the certificate by previously completing the required online programs, or are very close to earning it. To check their certificate status, users should log into their CFITrainer.Net account and look at the User Dashboard display to see how many programs they have completed toward the certificate.

In some states and jurisdictions, earning the certificate may count toward fulfilling your continuing education requirements. Print your certificate and present it to your commanding officer or supervisor so you can discuss how you might receive credit in your department for completing this training. Talk to your supervisor or training officer about requiring that all personnel who operate at post-fire scenes earn the Fire Scene Safety Certificate.

Please note that completing the Fire Scene Safety certificate is not a substitute for HAZMAT or other specialty qualifications that have their own required program of study. This certificate does not qualify you as a safety expert or to render any system safe. You are encouraged to seek additional training as needed to reach your professional development goals.

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