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Review of FIAI ATC 22 April 2015

This year’s ATC was hosted by the NIFRS in Belfast and was attended by approximately fifty delegates from various disciplines throughout the North and South of Ireland.

The services / industries represented included Fire and Rescue, Police, Forensic Science, Fire Investigation, Insurance and Fire Engineering. The programme was perhaps the FIAI’s most wide ranging to date and was expertly delivered by all the speakers involved.

For the first time, a “student slot” was included. This was intended to facilitate students engaged in fire-related studies to experience the atmosphere of a conference in a speakers role.

It also, of course, enabled them to showcase their work . The high level of interaction between delegates and speakers during question and answer sessions provided a strong indicator that the material presented addressed the interests of the entire audience.

Download the full text with photographs : Review FIAI ATC 2015

 

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Investigating Natural Gas Systems

Now Available on CFITrainer.Net

A fire investigator should have a basic understanding of the potential role of natural gas as a fuel source, an ignition source, and a factor in fire spread. The fire investigator should also know the tests that may be required as part of the fire investigation when natural gas piping or equipment is involved. Read more

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CFI Podcast: The process of elimination

Please join us for a new Podcast where we talk about the process of elimination and how it is a critical part of the scientific method, which is the preferred methodology for investigating a fire scene. How you explain your methodology is critical in many ways. It affects whether you will qualify as an expert witness and be permitted to testify. We hope you will listen and learn from our conversation with Steve Avato from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Click here to listen

 

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Journal of Fire Sciences November 2014

Table of Contents

November 2014; 32 (6)

Effects of sample orientation on pyrolysis and piloted ignition of wood

Cone calorimeter study of polyethylene flame retarded with expandable graphite and intumescent fire-retardant additives

Study on multi-section, nonlinear model of flashover in a long–narrow confined space

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Process of Elimination

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. In this program, Rodney J. Pevytoe (IAAI Past President), Randy Watson (Chair, NFPA 921 Committee), and Bill LeMire (Attorney) introduce the concept of the process of elimination, explain how negative corpus has evolved in NFPA 921, expand on the proper and improper uses of the process of elimination, and examine two court decisions where the process of elimination was a key element (Somnis v. Country Mutual and State of Wisconsin v. Joseph A. Awe).

Join us at CFITrainer.Net® for this module!

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Useful databases

Databases that all forensic scientists working in the fields of fire/arson and/or explosives should be aware of. These extremely useful databases are produced by the T/SWGFEX (Technical & Scientific Working Group for Fire and Explosives Analysis) and maintained by the National Center for Forensic Science (based at the University of Central Florida).

These databases are available online and are freely accessible Read more

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Training Day April 30th 2014

Fire Scene Examination and Report Writing

Our day long training day took place on April 30th in the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre Malahide Road Marino.

The theme was how to investigate the scene of a fire and the compiling of a report. Case studies from Fire Investigators, information from the Garda Technical Bureau and scene photography were among the topics covered.

The conference was aimed at those working in the industry from Fire Investigators, Gardaí, Fire Services, Insurance Investigators, Police Services and other interested parties.

Two presentations are available under the members download section from Professor Graham Jackson and Dr. Peter Mansi President of the International Association of Arson Investigators..

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