Essentials of Fire Investigation: The Complete Fire Scene Examination (34TA)

2027 will be a pivital year for fire investigation.  Both NFPA 1033 (Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator) and NFPA 1030 (including former NFPA 1037, Professional Qualifications for Fire Marshal) are in the process of being revised and will be published in early 2027 with a different content and set of job performance requirements. This presentation has been modified, revised and updated to cover the material contained within the current editions of NFPA 921 (Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations 2021) and NFPA 1033.  An increased focus will be on the content and applicability of the most recent changes to the both NFPA 1033 and  NFPA 1037.  Class content and discussion with also focus on the NFPA 1321, Standard for Fire Investigation Units, released in 2024 which now impacs all fire investigators and all fire investigation units.   To compound the situation and the necessity for a "complete and compliant Investigation,” more and more news articles and media reports are speaking to convictions in arson cases in the 1970's 1980's and 1990's being over turned because they were based on "junk science." This program is designed to demonstrate to the attendee that a comprehensive, thorough and systematic examination of every fire scene in accordance with NFPA 921 is of paramount importance, and secondly, that the "investigator" conducting that fire scene exam needs to adhere to and be "qualified" to conduct that investigation per NFPA 1033 and NFPA 1037, the accepted standards for a "Fire Investigator" and a "Fire Marshal." The newly adopted NFPA 1321 details the specifics for the formulation and conduct of “fire investigation units,” which until recently had not been “standardized” or addressed by the NFPA. From beginning to end, the "Investigator" must have a process in hand which facilitates the investigation of the entire scene, no matter how large or how small, and which allows for the proper documentation of that scene, the correct elimination or attribution of the heat source responsible for the fire, and the accurate determination as to the area or point of the origin of the fire. The presentation will also detail and go into specifics as to the preparation of a viable investigative report, which will memorialize an accurate record of the investigation for use later in either a departmental, civil or criminal process or proceeding.