·
The Forensic Science Service of Northern Ireland
·
Toyota Europe
·
Toyota GB
·
VOSA
·
West Midlands Travel
·
ZURICH Insurance
International
Vehicle Fire Investigation Course
The aim of this course:
To develop the
skills needed to investigate vehicles involved in fire incidents.
This course will be of particular interest to Police Officers of the
Collision/Accident Investigation Department, Vehicle Examiners,
Forensic Science Officers, Fire Officers, SOCO’s, Insurance
Investigators and Assessors and Vehicle Inspectors
Flash points and auto ignition
temperatures of various products used in motor vehicles
Static electricity
Impact
Fire Development
Setting a deliberate fire - inter
group
Predicting fire development
Investigations and group work
Evidence available and preservation
DNA opportunities
Fire pattern analysis
Post fire scene examination
Vehicle Fire Investigation – A
systematic approach
Recording the fire scene
Sympathetic fire fighting
The
process:
·
Interactive group discussion on vehicle fires and their possible
causes including case studies of previous incidents that
have occurred.
followed by:
The practical approach to investigation
Determining the fire temperature.
What should be considered in
ascertaining the cause of fire.
The Role of the Fire Service.
Risk Assessments for the Investigator
Looking for evidence
Recording the evidence
Recording the fire scene
DNA opportunities
Practical fire scenarios on fire
spread
The chemistry of fire and flashpoints
covering – petrol, diesel, brake fluid, liquefied petroleum gas,
etc.
Sympathetic extinguishing methods for
evidence and DNA preservation.
Group discussions on fire development,
methods of deliberate fire setting
Setting a deliberate fire for the
other group to investigate
Presentation including evidence
gathered to course
Fire investigation on vehicles that
have been involved in fire both accidental and deliberate.
Reviews and presentations by groups.
Methods of
extinguishing, evidence protection and the difficulty of gaining
information from witnesses.
Surrey Police and Toyota Europe in BA.
When asked what does it
look like when someone has poured petrol over a car and set light to
it, the best way is to show it is practically. PLI prides
itself on providing the best training available in the field of
vehicle fire investigation.
VFI - Merseyside and Surrey Fire
Services, Sussex Police, Langley Vale Recovery, ZURICH Insurance and
independent investigators from Ireland undertaking the advanced
course in February 2010.
VFI - The course looks
at forensic evidence retrieval and importance.
VFI - Each syndicate is tasked
to set a fire in a vehicle then the opposite group investigates.
Merseyside and Surrey Fire Services investigating the seat of the
fire and excavating for evidence.
British Army - Serious Equipment
Failure Investigation Team at work on the course in July 2010
Richard
Baker A.M.I.R.T.E.,
A.M.S.O.E., Hon.M.I.V.R., M.Inst.Pet.
Was until recently
Chief Fire Officer for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania after
setting up from scratch a fully functional fire, rescue
and ambulance service including a fire investigation
team based on UK standards. This now covers Kenya as
well and includes air ambulance response covering some
588,000 square miles. Richard was co-author of The
Energy Institute’s code of practice on the product and
vehicle recovery of low flash products transported by
road tanker and was founder of the national Vehicle Fire
Investigation course that has IFE CPD points. He is an
Associate Member of the Institute of Road Transport
Engineers, Associate Member of the Society of
Operational Engineers and an Honorary Member of the
Institute of Vehicle Recovery. He is also author of the
Police Blue Book on dealing with HAZMAT incidents,
author of the risk management distant learning BSc
programme for the University of Hong Kong, author of the
Police and Forensic Science Fire Investigation handbook
and Exercise Director for the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office Counter Terrorism Exercises in Central and East
Africa.
CHRIS
LOWE GIFireE MFSSoc IAAI - CFI
Chris served 31 years
with the UK Fire Service where he developed and managed
the Fire Investigation team as well as continuing as a
specialist Fire Investigator in the role of Group
Manager and is now an independent Fire Investigator in
the private sector.
His Investigations
have involved incidents including fatalities, serial
arsonists, and large financial losses ranging from small
domestic to large industrial and commercial properties
and vehicles, and he has prepared reports for Crown and
Coroner’s courts. In recent years he has become involved
in specialist work in Vehicle Fire Investigation and the
identification and recovery of forensic evidence from
vehicles involved in fire. He has developed and
delivered Fire Investigation training to Fire Officers,
Police Officers, Forensic Investigators, Insurance and
MOD investigators.
Chris was a member of
the East Midlands Regional Fire Investigation Liaison
Team where he was involved in the formation of Fire
Investigation policy and procedure for the Fire Service,
Police Service and Police Forensic Investigation teams.
He has presented at National conferences on Arson, Fire
Investigation, Management of Fire Investigation and Auto
Crime Investigation
An active member of
the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)
he is now the East Midlands Regional Representative and
has achieved a Certified Fire Investigator (CFI)
qualification with the IAAI. He is also a Graduate of
the Institution of Fire Engineers and a professional
Member of the Forensic Science Society.