Course Eligibility:
Applicants must be either a certified police officer or certified firefighter in the State of Wisconsin and have at least three years professional experience. Additionally, applicants must also, as one of their primary work duties, be responsible for conducting fire investigations to determine the origin and cause.
Course Application:
Applicants must submit the course application along with a letter signed by their Chief/Sheriff or designee, recommending the applicant for attendance and affirming their role as a fire investigator.
All applicants will be notified of their course acceptance by August 7, 2020. Qualified applicants accepted to the course will receive additional information and their student textbook prior to the start of the course.
Due to the limited course size, application to the course does not guarantee acceptance.
Course Details:
While this course is advertised as a Basic Fire Investigation course, the volume of materials covered, required readings, out-of-class homework and expectations of students will be demanding. Students should expect to complete recommended reading and coursework prior to arriving at the class. Additional homework, report writing, and studying will likely be required after daily classroom sessions and over the weekend.
Students who are selected will be provided a course textbook identified as Fire Investigator: Principles and Practice to NFPA 921 and 1033 - 5th edition, in advance of the course start date. Students are strongly encouraged to bring their own copies of NFPA 1033 and NFPA 921.
Students are expected to attend the entire course. Minor conflicts will be addressed on a case-by-case basis with the instructors. Given the design of the course, no make-up sessions are available. Students who have known conflicts should not apply.
During the course, students will be working outdoors in burn cells constructed for the class. Students should dress for outdoor/inclement weather and bring/wear all required personal protective equipment (PPE). Students that do not bring/wear the proper PPE will not be allowed to participate and, therefore, will not complete the course.
Students who do not finish the course once the course has started will NOT be refunded tuition fees. Students who withdraw from the course prior to the course beginning may have tuition fees refunded, however; if the textbook was delivered, the cost of the textbook and any shipping costs will be deducted from the refund.
Students who participate in unsafe acts, horseplay, dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, academic misconduct and/or law violations will be dismissed from the course and their tuition will NOT be refunded.
Students participate in this course at their own risk and/or the risk of their employing agency. By submitting an application, the student acknowledges that the State of Wisconsin, or any of its entities such as the Department of Justice, will not be liable for any damages or injuries incurred or sustained by students. This includes, but is not limited to, exposure to COVID-19 or any other infectious disease.