Fire Investigation Core Training Courses – 2023/24
To discuss matching the listed training programmes to your organisation’s requirements or individual needs, current availability or fees, please contact a representative of our Business Development Team via Tel: 07581 843 737 or email enquiries@gatr.co.uk
Designed for Fire & Rescue Service, Police Service and other professionals who routinely undertake or are about to undertake ‘Tier One’ Scene investigations.
NB. As at mid-April 2023 over 2300 candidates have registered for our Level 2 options.
This online course has been designed to provide knowledge and skills to learners who investigate, report and present evidence relating to incidents involving fire and/or explosion at Tier 1 and serves as an introduction to fire investigation. The course is designed for Watch Managers, Crew Managers and Junior Crime Scene Investigators (CSI). It does not qualify individuals as competent Fire Investigators, which is a much more advanced and specialized role. Successful completion will enable Watch Managers, Crew Managers and CSIs to make more accurate and effective judgments, considering their professional and legal responsibility.
To successfully achieve the GATR Level 2 certificate of completion in Introduction to Fire Investigation you must complete an online training course followed by online assessments. During these assessments you must demonstrate competence in the criteria set by National Standards (SFJA) at level 2. This course can also be accredited by SFJ Awards as a Level 2 Award in Introduction to Fire Investigation. If you wish to partake in this accreditation route, please contact us prior to course commencement.
Learning outcomes
At the conclusion of the course the learner will be able to: Understand the principles and responsibilities of fire investigation; Understand the methods used in fire investigation; Understand recording of evidence by a Fire Investigation Officer; and be able to Investigate a fire within own level of responsibility.
This online course has been designed to provide knowledge and skills to learners who investigate and report/present evidence relating to incidents involving fire and/or explosion at Tier 1 and serves as an introduction to fire investigation.
1. Understand the principles and responsibilities of fire investigation.
2. Understand the methods used in Fire Investigation.
3. Understand the recording of evidence by a tier 2 Fire Investigation Officer.
4. Be able to investigate a fire within their own level of responsibility.
By the end of the course you will be able to…
• Describe why fire investigation is needed.
• Explain the two tiers of fire investigation and the agencies involved.
• Identify the legal requirements for a fire investigation that apply to your organisation.
• Describe the limits of own responsibility as a Tier 1 Fire Investigator.
• Describe the levels of Personal Protective equipment (PPE) to be worn by a Tier 1 Fire Investigator when carrying out their duties.
• Describe the relevance of post fire indicators.
• Describe different types of burn patterns.
• Compare the differences between arson and deliberate fires.
• Describe effective scene preservation by initial crews.
• Identify the types of evidence gathered by a Tier 2 Fire Investigation Officer.
• Explain the reasons for and importance of accurate contemporaneous notes at fire scenes.
• Describe what is meant by ‘the chain of evidence’
• Summarise the information recorded by a Tier 2 Fire Investigation Officer.
• Identify the point of origin of a fire.
• Investigate the cause of a fire.
• Explain the development of a fire.
• Record information relating to a fire.
The Online Course Process
The Learner must complete all lessons and lesson activities provided on the course. The learner must achieve 100% in the knowledge check (The learner will have three attempts). The learner must achieve 100% in the Fire Scene assessment (The learner will have three attempts). For the Skills for Justice Award the learner is required to have a professional discussion with the course manager. This online discussion is not required for those learners taking the GATR route. The course manager must be satisfied that the learner completed all elements of the course and is competent to be issued with the award certificate at Level 2.
The Online Course
Whilst completing the online course, you will be assessed in each learning outcome to see if you have understood the issues.
Course Manager sign-off
SFJ route and GATR route – A course manager will have been tracking your progress throughout the process and he/she will have access to your results and participation. He/she will review these and when satisfied, sign you off as having completed the course.
Results Stage
GATR route – Following completion of all lessons and successful completion of both assessments, you will have access to the Certificate area on the site. You will be able to download your certificate as recognition and evidence of successful completion of the course. You will not be provided with any other feedback. SFJ Awards route – Following sign-off by your tutor, your results will be verified. You will be sent a Statement of Completion and your certificates will be sent to your organisation who will disseminate them to you. The certificate is evidence of successful completion of the course and achievement in obtaining the Level 2 Award in Introduction to Fire Investigation qualification. You will not be provided with any other feedback.
What one of our Level 2 candidates said about the course:
”I would say that the amount and depth of content is enough for anyone to benefit from operationally and certainly sufficient to ignite that thirst for further information if you wanted. I completed most of it using my phone, mainly for convenience, however I finished the scenario using the laptop, as the larger screen set the scenes better. Back in the day when a firefighter asked the fio about them investigating an incident they would often get the reply “Its on a need-to-know basis and you don’t need to know!”. Now I understand that if I knew then what I know now, I may have been able to give greater assistance and ultimately make their job easier!? I’m now 25 years into my career, the last 17 as a crew commander. I am truly grateful to have received this relevant, excellently presented and supported training. Not only has it been the missing piece in the puzzle and brought my understanding to a different level, it has changed my entire mindset upon how I approach, deal with and leave incidents. Knowing the answers to something is good, understanding what we have learnt and being able to use it straight out of the box is brilliant. I cannot praise this course high enough and believe, in my opinion, every operational firefighter would be hard pressed not to benefit from this course”.
5 days (45 CPD points) Delivered at the GATR Practical Training facility (Phoenix Heights) and Travelodge, Haverhill.
Designed for public and private sector personnel who carry out routine ‘Tier One’ fire scene investigations, who are taking on the more demanding roles and responsibilities at ‘Tier Two’ fire scenes.
NB. Prior to attending the Practical course, nominees are provided with free access to the GATR Online ‘Introduction’ (Theory) learning programme.
The first day of the Practical event focuses upon: Core theory topics drawn from the Online Theory programme; Recent editions of NFPA 921; A list of core components, which lead to effective scene management; Plus, delegates are taught best practice regarding the gathering, recording and presentation of information, which qualifies their conclusions.
Day two delegates can put theory into practice under the watchful eyes of our subject matter experts, who mentor syndicates through the examination of several burnt compartments. Day three, each syndicate, methodically documents the excavation of another fire damaged scene and gathers information from witnesses, in readiness for preparing an expert opinion statement.
Day four and five, delegates provide witness testimony in a courtroom or in another peer group environment and participate in inter-active workshops, before being shown photos and films, plus time/temperature graphs, of all the scenes they have attended on day two and three.
Designed for Fire & Rescue Service, Police Service and other experienced practitioners who undertake ‘Tier Two’ Scene investigations.
Some experienced practitioners who have not been able to maintain CPD training prefer to participate in a three-day PDR event and on the 4th or 5th day undertake the initial stages of our robust four-stage assessment process aligned to the Skills for Justice Awards Level 5 Certificate (L5C) in Fire Investigation, assessment criteria.
3 days (30 CPD points) Delivered at the GATR Practical Training facility (Phoenix Heights) and Travelodge, Haverhill.
NB. As at mid-April 2023 over 280 experienced practitioners have registered for our robust four stage Skills for Justice Level 5 Certificate in Fire Investigation.
Designed for experienced practitioners who regularly undertake ‘Tier Two’ scene investigations. The course involves delegates participating in a series of inter-active hands-on exercises, fire demonstrations, electrical and other workshops.
NB. Dependent on their level of experience and date of previous fire investigation course attended, many delegates prefer to attend a PDR event, in the same week as they undertake the initial stages of the GATR four-stage assessment process, aligned to the SFJ Awards Level 5 Certificate in Fire Investigation assessment criteria.
Regional Professional Training Courses Options
Designed for experienced practitioners who undertake ‘Tier Two’ Scene investigations, include:
• Electricity & Fire Modules;
• Explosions;
• Photography and Fire;
• Scene Documentation;
• Fire & Forensic Challenges;
• Deliberate & Fatal Fire Awareness.
NB. Following the Covid era GATR are in the process of redesigning a number of blended training options aligned to ISO 17020 for professionals who undertake Tier One and Tier Two scene investigations.
To discuss matching the listed training programmes to your organisation’s requirements or individual needs, current availability or fees, please contact a representative of our Business Development Team via Tel: 07581 843 737 or email enquiries@gatr.co.uk
All modules are CPD accredited with the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. The modules are run locally at the facility of the customer/client. £POA – Please contact GATR for further information.
Best Value
Gardiner Associates Training and Research (GATR) is an Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) ‘recognised’ training course provider and our core theory and practical courses are approved under the Continuing Professional Development scheme by the Forensic Science Society, providing an assurance of quality and content relevance.
Many of our established courses and other training events are validated for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The GATR team has long fostered the inter-agency team approach to fire investigation and organises its training courses and other events accordingly.
All of the training programs are designed, developed, presented and overseen by members of a very experienced team of practitioners and experts.
All of our training events are inter-active and draw not only from personal experiences and modern publications, but also at times from those who wrote or contributed to the books or as in the case of Kirk’s Fire Investigation 7th edition, also had the book dedicated to them.
Whilst we acknowledge the existence and the technical level at which various electronic training packages are aimed, for the specialist field of work of the experienced practitioners we prefer to draw from the same recommended reading list and present all of the subject areas in person.
The training programs keep pace with the latest developments in the field. Our training and research complex at Wethersfield, Essex, is one of the most comprehensive facilities dedicated to fire-investigation and related activities outside the USA. Each syndicate is provided with comprehensive fire/arson investigation tool kits and has access to a breakout room for briefings and team meetings.
• Student / Trainer ratios are often as low as 3:1.
• Our courses are challenging, enjoyable and rewarding.
• Our fees are very competitive.
Members of the GATR team have contributed and/or been acknowledged in many fire/arson related publications e.g., Home Office Fire/Police joint thematic review; Home Office Arson Scoping Study 1999; HO + ODPM circulars; Arson Control Forum (ACF) and Arson Prevention Bureau (APB) reports and written articles for fire industry journals etc. They also assisted in turning the Fire Investigation National Standards into a national qualification (L5 Fire Investigation Certificate) as well as writing the Level 2 Introduction to Fire Investigation online course.
What Our Delegates Say About Us
PDR Course Delegate + L5C Candidate
“There was so much more to the course than just obtaining the qualification, a unique opportunity to benefit from the exposure to a wide range of fire scenes and a valuable opportunity to access the vast amount of knowledge and experience from the trainers all of who were always very conscientious and considerate. Thank you GATR”.
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Location
GATR Phoenix Heights Fire & Research
Sculpins Lane,
Wethersfield,
Braintree,
Essex, United Kingdom
CM7 4AZ