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 event of the year, visit the registration page.
Following the AGM was a double Education Night, with presentations from Rick Miller (RFS) ad Vicky Thavapalan (JW Munday & Associates). Rick presented a case study of the Alison Homestead fire, a deliberately set fire that destroyed the historic Alison Homestead in Wyong, NSW. The importance of proper scene preservation by first responding fire brigade personnel was a major issue in the successful investigation of this fire.
Vicky Thavapalan discussed issues relating to safety at fire scenes, including proper PPE requirements and strategies for dealing with dangerous structures. A number of incident fatalities involving fire investigators were discussed. A discussion was also made of chemical exposure at fire scenes and what can be done to limit its effects.