By Kathleen Polesnak
Bay City Times
Copyright 2007 Bay City Times
All Rights Reserved
HOMER TWP., Mich. — The 80-plus degree temperatures and blazing sun on Wednesday didn’t stop fire investigators from heating things up even more.
About 165 police, fire and private investigative personnel from across the state gathered at the Homer Township Fire Department near Midland to observe three intentionally-set fires.
The exercise was part of a four-day Arson School put on by the Michigan chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators. The school offers those in public safety an opportunity to expand their education on various causes of fires.
The live fires demonstrated how quickly and slowly fires can ignite a room, as well as how they start in the first place.
“You learn something new every year,” Bay City Fire Marshal Thomas Herek said. “That’s why you keep coming back. Whenever you think there’s everything there is to know about a fire, somebody’s going to find a new way that’s undetectable.”
The live fire was conducted in Midland because of the available burn pad - a large cement slab in an open area - as well as two nearby fire hydrants. The training continues through Friday, with a large portion of the instructional work taking place at the Doubletree hotel and conference center in downtown Bay City.
Ruth Hannam, part of the special investigative unit for the Michigan Basic Property Insurance Association in Detroit, said the exercise was useful because many investigators miss the initial stages of a fire, making it difficult to determine the source.
Hannam, of Waterford, was among several insurance and energy company personnel on hand Wednesday trying to gather information on what happens at a fire in its early stages.
“I was never a fireman, so it teaches me how fire reacts and moves around,” she said. “By the time I get there, it’s already out and cold.”
Knowing what the risks are is another lesson firefighters and investigators get from watching a live fire. Sensors in the three “rooms” set ablaze on Wednesday were connected to a computer that measured the temperature at different heights. At one point, the floor was 500 degrees while the ceiling was 1,400 degrees.
“You can’t be afraid but you can’t be too careful,” Herek said. “The more you know, the better equipped you’ll be for the real thing.”
Collecting and monitoring the data from the fire sensors was the job of Mike Marquardt from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Marquardt said he gathers as much information as possible from live fires for both safety and scientific research.
“This really shows how fast it happens and how little time you have to get out,” Marquardt said.
Other topics the Arson School is exploring are unusual burn patterns, natural gas fires and coordinating information for fire and insurance investigations. On Friday, participants will take an exam on what they learned and receive a certificate of completion.