President's Message - April 2018
Dear CAFI Members,
As I write this, spring has not sprung yet and we are still experiencing freezing weather. As investigators who spend a lot of time outside and in buildings that expose us to the weather, we are all looking forward to the warmer climate that spring and summer will bring.
The weather has however not slowed down the CAFI executive and secretariat, and I have several points of good news to bring to your attention.
Firstly, the new on-line university level forensic fire investigation training program with the Faculty of Forensic Sciences at Laurentian University has begun in January 2018 and we have a number of CAFI members enrolled and taking the first course with Adjunct Professor Richard Devine. This university level training program is a dynamic four course program that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the job function of a Professional Fire Investigator to the NFPA 1033 Standard. Admission into this program is guaranteed to CAFI members in good standing, one of the many benefits of your CAFI membership. The first 3 courses are on-line correspondence and are easily taken by investigators who are juggling a full time job and other responsibilities. More details are provided under the NEWS/EVENTS section of our web site. This is a great opportunity for those who have taken the one week NFPA1033 course elsewhere and are looking to delve deeper into the listed 16 topics that need to be understood beyond the high school level at a postsecondary education level.
Secondly, since last fall CAFI has delivered 3 webinars on relevant fire investigation topics by industry leaders and we have had an excellent response from the attendees. In summary, CAFI has delivered the following webinars, with several other planned topics though this summer:
| Date | Webinar Subject | Presenter |
| October 25, 2017 | Hoarding fires related to Compulsive Hording | James Hind, Fire Inspector, Public Fire & Life Safety Educator and Fire and Explosive Investigator |
| January 10, 2018 | Marijuana Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Extraction Fire and Explosion Investigations | Jason M. Williams, Investigator, Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management |
| March 20, 2018 | Ventilation Effects on Postflashover Compartment Fires | Jason M. Williams, Investigator, Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management |
| May 9, 2018 (Scheduled) | Bias in its’ many forms and how it may influence the Fire/Forensic Investigator | Paul Okrutny, Lecturer and Teaching Assistant at McMaster University and Forensic Material Failures Expert at -30- Forensic Engineering |
| June/July 2018 (TBA) | Arc Mapping – the often overlooked tool to assist in the identification of the fire area of origin | TBA |
To register for an upcoming webinar, please go to our web site under SEMINARS. If you missed a webinar that you wanted to watch, no worries. All of the webinars are recorded and posted to the CAFI web site under the Members Only section. CAFI Members can LOGIN with the temporary password Cafi2018# and follow instructions to change their password to a permanent one. Once in the members’ only section, choose Archived Webinars on the right side menu. The members’ only section also contains past copies of the CAFI Journal magazine for your reading pleasure.
With all of the training opportunities, we at CAFI are very proud to uphold our mission to promote and enhance the field of fire investigation through ongoing training and evaluation. I wish you all a fire safe season.
Yours Truly,
Vladimir Chlistovsky, CCFI-C, CFEI, P.Eng.
President, Canadian Association of Fire Investigators
Email: president@cafi.ca