NSW Association of Fire Investigators

Thank you to all members who attended our Education Night presentation last Thursday. Nick Sutarov from GKA Investigations Group delivered a fascinating case study on the ability of pooled water to focus sunlight and start a fire. The recount of the scene examination, further research, and hypothesis testing was a great example of a well performed fire investigation. Many attendees found the presentation enlightening! #education #sutarov #sun

Dear Members, The end of the year is getting closer which means the NSWAFI will be hosting a combined Education Night and Social Night. This is a great opportunity to reflect on the past year in the fire investigation community and think of where we will be headed next. Join us for a presentation by Jim Munday on this very topic, and enjoy connecting with colleagues and friends with food and drink provided. Please note that as this is a catered event, you MUST register using

Happy New Year! Hopefully all our members had a chance to take a break over the Christmas and New Year period. NSWAFI will kick off 2018 with the first Education Night of the Year on 1 February. This presentation will be given by forensic chemist Katarina Burda. In this session she will outline the principles of ignitable liquid residue analysis, as well as the principles, validation and examples for use of Field test kits for collection of ignitable liquid residues. Case stu

The final education night for 2017 will be held on Thursday 7/12/17 at RFS Headquarters, 15 Carter St Homebush. The topic for this education night is: Back to the Basics - Fire Science. In NFPA 1033 it states: “The investigator shall have and maintain at a minimum an up-to-date basic knowledge of the following topics beyond the high school level”. There are 16 topics listed, which include fire science, fire chemistry and fire dynamics. This education night will give you a bet

The next NSWAFI education night will be on Thursday 5 October 2017, which will be at RFS headquarters at Homebush. As fire investigators, we work with Police Forensics all the time. The collection of evidence is their job, but it is our job to find that evidence and make recommendations about what is best to be collected. Reducing the risk of contaminating any evidence that fire investigators may be involved in is very important. This presentation by NSW Police Crime Scene Of

Dear Members, Thanks to all those who attend the AGM and Education Night last week. Here is a quick summary of the AGM. From the President's Report: We have had a good year with a successful AAFI 2016. A profit from this conference of just over $10,000 has put the association in good financial position. The committee has decided to put $2500 towards an increase of the seed funding for future conferences. We have 138 financial members. We are approaching 500 likes on our Faceb

The ANZFSS ACT Branch will be conducting an education night about the Rozelle explosion and fire on Tuesday, 25 July 2017, at the Canberra Institute of Technology, Bruce Campus. This presentation was given to NSWAFI members in Sydney in December last year. The same presentation will be shown on this night. If you were unable to make it to the Sydney presentation, here is your opportunity to see it. The presenters will be Richard Howe, Phil Elliot and Michael Forbes. There is

The next NSWAFI Education Night will be held on Thursday 3/8/17 at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club. NSWAFI will conduct its AGM starting at 18:30 hours. This will be followed by an education night about using drones in fire investigation. FIRU is the only fire investigation unit in the country with a dedicated drone for its use. Wayne Schweickle is the RPAS pilot for FIRU. He will discuss the good things and bad things that he has experienced during this time. He will also discuss

The next NSWAFI education night will be held on 1/6/17. The night will include two presentations. One will be on the new edition of NFPA 921 – Guide to Fire and Explosion Investigations. This is an important information session about the changes in the new edition. A short case study will also be presented on the work being done by the RFS to reduce arson in the Macarthur zone. Please join us at RFS Headquarters in Homebush from 18:30 hours. To RSVP for this event, please com

Court appearances are a necessary part of a fire investigator's duties. As a result, NSWAFI's April Education Night will focus on the realities of providing fire evidence in court. Presenter Mr Phillip Etienne will draw upon his extensive court experience to provide NSWAFI members with a look into what these aspects of an expert's work is like. To RSVP for this event, complete the Booking Form. #education #phillip #etienne #court

NSWAFI will kick off for the year with our first Education Night in February. This Education Night will feature the NFPA 921 and NFPA 1033 documents. Presenter Mr Ross Brogan will discuss what these two documents mean to the professional standing within our industry and before the Court. Start the year with a view to furthering your expertise in the standards and qualifications that shape our industry. #education #brogan #ross

Many thanks to all members who attended the Education Night at RFS Headquarters on Thursday. The topic of the night was the investigation of the 2014 Rozelle convenience store deflagration and fire. It was a fantastic presentation by DS Rick Howe, DS Philip Elliott and NSWAFI President Michael Forbes. The focus of discussion surrounded how the large crime scene was managed and how interaction between personnel from different agencies assisted the investigation. The co-operati

Only two weeks to go until our biggest Education Night event of the year! Don't forget to RSVP to this highly anticipated event! See the updated flyer for details. Investigating the Rozelle Fire In September 2014, three lives were lost when a massive deflagration and fire engulfed a convenience store and the apartments above in Victoria Road, Rozelle. Two years later, the convenience store owner Adeel Khan was convicted and sentenced to 40 years for the murder of Chris Noble

This presentation will present NSWAFI Members with an insight into the collaborative forensic investigation between Fire and Police investigators leading to the conviction of an arsonist for murder. This is sure to be a popular Education Night, so be sure to RSVP before the deadline! Event details have also been posted to the NSWAFI Event Calendar. #education #khan #rozelle

The Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) is having its yearly public night on 26 October. This event will be on the investigation into the explosion and fire in Rozelle in September 2014. Both of our Associations have a verbal agreement to invite each others' members to their education events. As a part of this agreement, we have decided that members of either Association will be treated as members of the other. This event is the ANZFSS fund raiser for

Thank you to all members who attended last week's Annual General Meeting. The Association is busy making preparations for September's AAFI 2016 conference. Several sponsorship options are still available. if you have any suggestions or ideas regarding sponsorship opportunities, please visit the conference website. Over 80 delegates are registered to attend the conference, with up to 100 expected to take part. If you haven't yet registered for the biggest fire investigation ev

This year, our Annual General Meeting will take place at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club. The AGM will begin at 18:00, followed by two educational presentations. If you would like to serve on the Committee of your Association, please email the Secretary with your nomination and attend the meeting. We are always looking for members willing to help out with the running of the Association. The Education Night will consist of two presentations. Vicky Thavapalan will discuss the life a

Thanks to Morgana Harris for speaking at our Education Night on Thursday. It was an interesting discussion about the role of an expert witness in the courts. She has offered her services to Association members, so if you would like to enquire about her services, please contact her. Our next Education Night is scheduled for 4 August. Additional details will be released closer to the date. #education #morgana #harris #expertevidence

The next NSWAFI Education Night is scheduled for 18:30 on Thursday 2 June. Presenter Morgana Harris will be speaking on the theme of expert witness testimony. #education #morgana #harris #expertevidence

Our April Education Night will be presented by Bob McKay on the topic of motor vehicle fires. This Education Night will be held at the FRNSW site in Greenacre. Parking is available on site, but please follow the directions of security staff once on site. Please arrive by 18:30 for a 19:00 start. #education #bob #mckay