New Multi-Program Certificate in Fire Investigation Specifically for the Insurance Industry
The International Association of Arson Investigators is pleased to announce that CFITrainer.Net has launched a new multi-program certificate, "Fire Investigation for the Insurance Industry," for insurance personnel who participate in the investigation of fire scenes to improve their skills. Insurance professionals interact with fire cases in many different ways, but may not get the training that gives them a broader understanding of fire investigation and operating at post-fire scenes. Completing this certificate will improve your understanding of fire investigation as it relates to your practice of operating at post-fire scenes and providing information in civil proceedings.
Motive, Means, and Opportunity: Determining Responsibility in an Arson Case
NFPA 1033 & 921: 2022/2021 Editions Important Updates
Personal Protective Equipment for Post-Fire Scenes
The Scientific Method for Fire and Explosion Investigation
Understanding the Fire Investigator’s Job: A Guide for Non-Investigators
Understanding Undetermined
What the Insurance Professional Needs to Know About Fire Investigation
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.
Actions of insurance professionals in fire cases can have significant impacts on the resolution of the claim and on any litigation that results from the claim. A stronger understanding of fire investigation and of the role of insurance information in that investigation can help insurance professionals do their jobs better. The required modules for the CFITrainer.Net Fire Investigation for the Insurance Industry Certificate deliver actionable information you can put into practice.
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 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 Investigation for the Insurance Industry Certificate
This seminar will show insurance professionals the importance of understanding the operation and communication of industrial interconnected devices and machines. We will discuss the sensors that are commonly used in industrial processes and how that data can be harvested to aid in investigations and failure analysis. Because many of these machines are accessible via internet or local network access, we will examine how this sensor data, and other sensitive settings and firmware, may be vulnerable to manipulation after a damage event or accident. To emphasize the idea of remote manipulation of internet connected devices, a live demonstration of a wireless ignition source will be shown. Case studies will be presented to demonstrate real-world applications of the discussed concepts.
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 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 describes the design, construction, components, and operation of a commercial kitchen’s ventilation, fire suppression, and cooking fuel systems.
This module provides an investigative framework for commercial kitchen fires and discusses major commercial kitchen systems and activities as they relate to possible fire origin and cause.
This module looks at four of the most commonly-reported accidental fire causes: cooking equipment, heating equipment, electrical distribution, and smoking materials.
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 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.
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 discusses investigative tasks specific to fatal fires, including properly recovering and moving a body and interpreting fire effects on the body within the context of the fire scene.
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 discusses foundational wildland fire terminology, factors that influence wildland fire behavior, how these factors interact to produce fire effects (and subsequently fire patterns), and new research into fire dynamics in the wildland that is challenging assumptions.
Learn about the mass loss and deformation effects of heat on fuels, including definition, formation explanation, the fire scene context, and implications for fire pattern analysis.
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 provides instruction on the fundamentals of residential building construction with an eye toward how building construction affects fire development.
This module helps the investigator understand how IGL canine teams are trained and worked so investigators can work in partnership with the handler to conduct searches successfully and safely.
This program discusses how to access insurance information, understand insurance documents, ask key questions of witnesses, and apply the information learned.
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.
This program describes the scope of the youth-set fire problem, how fire investigation addresses it, and the fire investigator’s responsibilities in a youth-set fire case.
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 module discusses investigating a fire when natural gas is present, including natural gas as an ignition and fire spread source, documentation, and system testing.
This module discusses the juvenile justice system, legalities of interviews and interrogations, arson statutes, search and seizure, and confidentiality.
This program explains what lithium-ion batteries are, how they are constructed, where they are used, safety concerns, and how they can cause fires and explosions.
This program discusses the latest developments in expert testimony under the Daubert standard, including the MagneTek case decided in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals.
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 module educates the investigator about NFPA 1033’s importance, its requirements, and how those requirements impact the fire investigator’s professional development.
This module discusses how photovoltaic systems work, how they are designed and installed, and how to safely interact with them when investigating a fire scene.
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 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.
This module describes how to conduct a site safety assessment, identify potential hazards, craft a plan to mitigate risks, and act so you do not bring the hazards home.
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 program untangles the meanings of “undetermined,” explains its correct usage, and describes how to properly report “undetermined” fire cause and classification.
