Firefighters complete investigation training

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Firefighters and police officers from across the state got some hands-on experience Friday learning how to determine the cause and origin of a fire.

A building on New Hope Road was donated to Rural Metro Fire and was used to show students real-life examples of fires they will see in the field.

The goal was for students to accurately determine how the fire was started by investigating the scene and collecting evidence.

“We also look for other forms of evidence that may be available that could indicate whether this fire was intentionally set as well as evidence that could lead us to fires that are accidental in nature,” Supervising Deputy State Fire Marshal Craig Andresen said.

The students then each made presentations on how and why their assigned fire began.

After the presentation, they then got to see video of how the fire actually started compared to their theory.

The students were mainly people in the field who were either looking to shift careers or gain more knowledge to share with their community.

“This is not only great for us and what we can do here… but it’s great for the communities that we live in as well,” Student and Malalla Firefighter Paramedic Rob Boren explained. “Whether it be Malalla or we’ve got guys here from Marion County, and they can take it back to their home districts and implement the things they’ve learned throughout this week into their home departments.”

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Ethan McReynolds is a reporter and weekend anchor for NBC5 News. He grew up in Bothell, Washington and graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Broadcasting and minors in Journalism and Sport Management. At Gonzaga, he started his own sports podcast. Ethan loves rooting for his hometown Seattle sports teams, especially the Mariners. He loves playing baseball, basketball, and soccer. He is also an avid Taylor Swift fan.
Skip to content