Fire Investigator Training Comes to Forest Grove

On Saturday May 15th, firefighters from all over NW Oregon came to Forest Grove to attend the hands on portion of a basic fire investigation class. The students had previously received instruction on topics that ranged from legal aspects to burn pattern interpretation to photography and documentation, and was intended to prepare them to help their agency determine what causes the fires that they respond to. Mostly senior firefighters, the participants came from as far away as Warrenton on the Oregon Coast and Columbia River Fire & Rescue in St. Helens, and were instructed by Fire Investigators from FGF&R and the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal.

FGF&R Fire Inspector Matt Johnston works with a team from Cornelius and Warrenton to identify the cause of a living room fire

For the last few months we collected furniture and items typical of a modern home to set up the house at the corner of 18th Avenue and C Street with as real of a presentation as possible. Last Monday our firefighters created various "sets" inside the home to simulate different causes of fire. We created an arson situation using flammable liquids to start the fire, a youth set fire involving fireworks and matches, a kitchen fire started by unattended cooking, a living room fire that began by a person who smoked while using medical oxygen, and an electrical fire started by using too many extension cords in a bedroom. We extinguished the fires just as we would on a real fire and left the rooms intact for the fire investigators.

Our "set" involving what could happen if a person smokes while using oxygen begins to burn the couch in our living room scenario

When the students processed the scene they were expected to work as a team to determine each of the five fire causes. Starting from the outside of the home they made observations and worked their way towards the areas where the fire had created the most damage. Once there they carefully layered through the debris to find what they believed had caused the fire to start. Even in the vast blackness and destruction of the fire the new investigators were able to find and identify small items like cigarette filters, match sticks, and the remains of the flammable liquid bottle. Once done they were all expected to share their findings with one of the instructors and create documents to prove their theories.

Police Officers from the Forest Grove Police Department stopped by to chat with the new fire investigators about the role that police officers have on a fire investigation scene.

All together, almost 20 students attended the Saturday class. Many of which came from the western part of Washington County. FGF&R participates in a fire investigation team concept that uses trained fire investigators from our neighbors at Cornelius, Gaston, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, and Washington County Fire District 2 to work together on a fire scene. This training will allow us for a more experienced training pool to pull from when needed anywhere in the western part of Washington County.