Images: City of Cold Lake. 

Fire Investigation courses were hosted in Cold Lake last week, bringing Fire Investigators and subject matter experts together from public and private agencies, the Government of Alberta, RCMP, Alberta Wildfire, and the insurance industry.

“We had experts come in to teach photography from a forensic and crime scene perspective on what remains after a burn,” said Fire Chief Jeff Fallow. “It’s a valuable learning experience for Fire Investigators from all over Alberta.”

The courses included Forensic Photography and Essentials of Fire Investigation.  The Essentials course concluded with hands-on investigations of a variety of ignition scenarios from live burn cell fires.

“We had some great fire scenarios that the instructors staged, and our own firefighters extinguished,” said Fallow. “Then we go one step further and take a look at the evidence and fire patterns that are left behind after the fire is out, to determine the origin and cause of the fire.”

The course was hosted by Cold Lake Fire-Rescue and presented by the Fire Investigation Association of Alberta (FIAA). The internationally recognized FIAA is a volunteer, non-profit organization designed to support and develop fire investigators and the science of fire investigation across the province.

For more information on the FIAA, visit www.fiaa.ca