Mount Vernon News

CENTERBURG — Last month, Central Ohio Joint Fire District Lt. Jason Whipple traveled to Emmitsburg, Md., to study for two weeks at the National Fire Academy. The Fire/Arson Origin and Cause Investigations course he successfully completed prepared him to identify the cause and origins of fires, conduct investigations and pursue cases through the legal system.

The course, which was paid for with federal Homeland Security grant money, was taught by instructors from the NFA, as well as co-instructors from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Some were National Response Team members.

Whipple, who was promoted to lieutenant in 2007, said he became interested in arson investigations during a basic class he took earlier in his career.

“They go over everything a little bit in the basic investigations class that we took through the Ohio Fire Academy,” he said. “That was a very good class, and I was very interested in investigations. After being promoted here, that was one of the duties that was charged to me.”

He said because the OFA is revamping its state program, he decided to look into the national training, and applied to the NFA.

Whipple completed an application and wrote an essay, and Chief Joe Porter added his support.

“I think more people should take advantage of these National Fire Academy classes,” Porter said. “The training is phenomenal. We may rarely have an arson but we have somebody now who has a lot more insight in what to look for from now on.”

While at the academy, Whipple experienced hands-on training as well as intensive classroom work. In rooms with one wall cut out called “flash cells,” fires were set under identical conditions, except for the addition of gasoline used as an accelerant.

“The only difference was the amount of time it took to burn,” Whipple said. “The temperature did not change, it just reached that temperature five minutes faster with the gasoline. You would have never proved that to me if I hadn’t seen it.”

Whipple said that in other burn cells, the instructors set fires differently, and the students had to go in and determine how it had been set.

The students were also trained in lab procedures, and shown the process of how police departments become involved in arson investigations.

“They taught you how to work with different entities like the police department, the lab, and the medical examiner,” Whipple explained.

Fatal fire investigations were also touched on, and the importance of preserving evidence.

“We learned the importance of always getting an autopsy in a fatal fire,” he said.

Whipple said the critical nature of investigations into fatal fires was stressed.

“You’re there for a reason. You’re there because these people [victims] need someone to speak for them,” he said. “You’ve got to figure the puzzle out, so to speak. What you write in your report will let loved ones know what happened — accident or not — so there’s some closure.

“One of the neat things about the class is I got to see different aspects of how they do things in different parts of the country,” said Whipple. Twenty-seven students from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska attended the class.

According to Whipple, federal budget cuts could affect the amount of this type of training available to first responders. He hopes the public will see the importance of increased training for emergency personnel.

“They need to keep that money where it’s at with police and fire and EMS training,” said Whipple. “There are some states that don’t have this training due to cutbacks. We need to encourage our senators and congressmen to keep these programs. We need that kind of infrastructure and training.”

He believes he now has better skills and tools to determine when to call the State Fire Marshal’s Office into an investigation, and how to aid that investigation. He said he would like to go over what he’s learned with the sheriff and the prosecutor, and would like to work with them on local cases.