Australasian Association of Fire Investigators (AAFI) Conference 2024

Welcome Letter

The New South Wales Association of Fire Investigators (Chapter 47 of IAAI) and the organising committee invite you to the 2024 Australasian Association of Fire Investigators (AAFI) biennial conference being held on 21-23 October 2024 at the Western Sydney Conference Centre in Penrith, New South Wales.

The conference theme is “Live it, Learn it, Pass it on.” We are asking delegates to share their experiences, learn from others and then return to their workplaces and pass it on. The conference will focus on two main themes: lithium-ion batteries in fire investigation and wildfire investigation. To achieve this, we have two key speakers, Mr Cameron Novak and Mr Richard Woods. Mr Novak is an Electrical and Fire Research Engineer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the USA. Mr Wood is an international specialist in Wildfire cause determination and Wildfire prevention.

AAFI 2024 will offer delegates a unique opportunity of a full-day field trip to the Fire and Rescue NSW Fire Research Testing Facility at Londonderry. Mr Novak and Mr Woods will provide hands-on experience in electrical failure analysis and wildfire investigation. The conference is an opportunity to learn and interact with two of the world’s leading experts in their field of fire investigation.

Lithium-ion batteries have become an ongoing risk in the community, creating new challenges for fire services worldwide tasked with extinguishing these types of incidents. Our goal is to educate delegates about lithium-ion batteries, how to determine if they were the ignition source that started a fire, and the risks to fire investigators, both in the form of stored energy and harmful gases.

The conference is the peak biennial forum for fire investigators in Australasia. AAFI 2024 aims to attract delegates from Australasia, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, in particular fire investigators, engineers, police investigators, solicitors, loss adjusters, insurers, regulatory agencies and other government departments who use fire investigation research and evidence in the prosecutions of criminal activities, civil matters and for improvements in safety requirements.

The organising committee wants to build on the success of the AAFI 2022 conference. AAFI 2024 is an opportunity to showcase Australia’s capabilities and the practical benefits of live burns in fire investigation and research. It is a forum that brings together representatives involved in fire investigation and research from fire services, police services, universities, and private industry.

AAFI 2022 provides an opportunity for networking between various disciplines and jurisdictions to share experiences and the latest innovations and techniques to develop more effective fire investigation methodologies.

This is our industry, and the NSWAFI and AAFI 2024 organising committee encourage your attendance and any thoughts on speakers, topics, or sponsors.

Michael Forbes AFSM IAAI-CFI CFEI GIFireE President NSWAFI