Wildfire investigation

Andy (left) and Simon (right) after receiving their Wildfire Cause and Origin qualifications in California

During early 2026 two of the WildfireTaC team, Andy Elliott and Simon Wonnacott, travelled to the United States of America to undertake the NWCG Certified ‘Wildland Fire Cause and Origin FI-210’ training course. This was a two week trip where both Simon and Andy completed the course with Calfire in California on week one before Andy travelled onto Bend in Oregon to complete the course for a second time.

Andy decided to do two courses back to back to embed the knowledge, but also to experience the same training from two perspectives. The first week was delivered by Calfire, a Fire and Rescue Service, and the participants were mostly Firefighters and Calfire Law Enforcement Officers. The second week was delivered by the US Forest Service and the target audience was mainly Forest workers and Forestry Law Enforcement Officers. Both courses were also delivered in very different landscapes and wildland fuels. The Calfire course was based on grassland and brush fuels while the Oregon course was predominantly based in forest understorey fuels. This gave Andy a much greater understanding of fire behaviour within a range of fuel types.

Both Simon and Andy are also IFE (Level 5) qualified Fire Investigators. The combination of being qualified Fire Investigators and Wildland Fire Investigators makes their skillset unique in the UK context. We are available to undertake or to assist in Wildfire Investigation. Please use the ‘Get Quote’ page to contact us.