During the months of November and December 2015, a series of training sessions were delivered to Victoria Police members who undertake the role of Bushfire Arson Explosives Liaison Officers (BAELO) with presentations from Detectives from the Victoria Police Arson & Explosives Squad and the CFA Fire Investigation Section.
The training sessions commenced on Monday 23 November 2015 and concluded on Thursday 17 December 2015. Sessions were held at the following regional locations across the State:
- Wangaratta
- Shepparton
- Geelong
- Glen Waverley (Police Academy)
- Somerville
- Morwell
- Bairnsdale
- Huntly
- Warrnambool
- Horsham
As part of the training sessions to the Detectives and Police members the following topics were presented.
Detectives from the Victoria Police Arson & Explosives Squad provided an overview on the:
- Roles and responsibilities of the Arson & Explosives Squad
- Attendance criteria for the Arson & Explosives Squad
- Role of the Bushfire Arson Explosives Liaison Officers
- Initial actions and investigation processes specific to bushfire and arson investigation
- Evidence collection
- Case Studies
The CFA Fire Investigation Section provided an overview on the:
- CFA Fire Investigation Program
- Attendance criteria for Fire Investigation
- Roles and responsibilities of the Fire Investigators, District Fire Investigation Coordinators, State Fire Investigation Coordinator and the CFA Liaison Officer and Analyst to Victoria Police Arson & Explosives Squad
- Fire Danger Period
- Total Fire Bans
- Types of Fire Permits
- Causation of vegetation fires
- Fire trends
- Offences under the Country Fire Authority (CFA) Act 1958
- Suspicious fires “Hot Spots” mapping
A number of the CFA District Fire Investigation Coordinators, Fire Investigators and on duty operational career fire-fighters also attended and participated in the training sessions to discuss local fire trends.
The training sessions further enhanced the partnerships already established between CFA and Victoria Police from a fire investigation perspective.
State Fire Investigation Coordinator Nicole Harvey
Author: Nicole Harvey