New Fire Investigation for Fire Officers Certificate

Curriculum Covers Core Fire Investigation Skills Every Fire Officer Needs and Can Be Earned Online

The International Association of Arson Investigators is pleased to announce that CFITrainer.Net now has the capability to award special professional certificates for completing a curriculum sequence of online learning modules related to the job performance requirements outlined in the Fire Officer Standard. The first certificate program available is "Fire Investigation for Fire Officers." Earning this certificate requires completing eight CFITrainer.Net modules in core fire investigation skills that every fire officer needs. It is an excellent opportunity for all fire officers to obtain training in these basic skills to improve their competency in fire investigation.

In accordance with NFPA 1021: Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications, fire officers must be able to perform a fire investigation to determine preliminary cause, secure an incident scene, and preserve evidence. Unfortunately, many fire officers do not receive extensive training in fire origin and cause investigation, scene safety, evidence preservation, and documentation. Some do not receive any training at all. This new Fire Investigation for Fire Officers is an important step in addressing that training gap. The required modules focus on practical, actionable information and recommended practices that every fire officer can use immediately.

"This is a certificate that every Fire Officer, Shift Investigator, Captain, Lieutenant, and even Chief Officer tasked with fire origin & cause needs to have, whether career or volunteer. This has been a passion of mine as most of my career has been spent educating public sector fire investigators as well as fighting for company officers to realize when to call an investigator and when they can feel confident that they have the situation under control. I am proud of all the work that went into these modules. Company Officers at all levels can rest assured that IAAI is there for them and that the Training & Education Committee, along with CFITrainer, will continue to add modules with them in mind." Barry M. Grimm, President IAAI



The new certificate is available now and the requirements are listed on the certificate's information page. 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 Console on the left. There will be a series of checkboxes for each program required that will show your progress toward earning 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 so you can discuss how you might receive credit in your department for completing this training. Talk to your chief or training officer about requiring all fire officers to take CFITrainer.Net modules and earn the Fire Investigation for Fire Officers Certificate. Mention the certificate to your fellow officers, and encourage them to check out CFITrainer.Net and complete the modules to earn their own certificate. And, share the following link with your social network to make them aware of the certificate opportunity:https://www.cfitrainer.net/Multi-Program-Certificates/Fire-Investigation-For-Fire-Officers.aspx

Fire investigation is a critical component of the fire officer's fire prevention and community risk reduction mission. Identifying fire origin and cause enables public safety agencies and government to design solutions to address those causes and reduce the number of fires resulting from them. Becoming properly trained in fire investigation so you can meet the requirements of NFPA 1021 and serve your community to the best of your ability is a concrete step in professionalism that you can take right now. Earning this new certificate is a great way to begin, and following it up with additional training online, in the classroom, and in the field will ensure you possess the knowledge and skills needed to properly investigate the fires you respond to. News Archive