Preserving Evidence at the Fire Scene

The City of Madison Fire Department's lead fire investigator will be among the speakers at a workshop on maintaining a fire scene and preserving evidence following the incident. Lt. Bradley Olson has been a firefighter since 1988. He joined the City of Madison Fire Department in 1991where he has been an active Fire Investigator for 13 years. He currently leads the Department's Fire/Arson Investigation Unit, which he has supervised since 2006. Uninformed and inexperienced emergency contractors who provide protective and/or restoration services can destroy or compromise evidence of a fire's origins. The consequences of these actions can frustrate arson prosecutions, undermine the ability of insurers to recover damages from negligent parties and/or prevent public agencies from collecting data that may help prevent fires in the future. Tomorrow's workshop is from 3:00 - 5:00 PM at the Sheraton Madison Hotel, 706 John Nolen Drive, Reflection Room D. This workshop is for all people performing or supervising board-up and mitigation at fire scenes to provide them the background and information they need to protect the public interest. Other presenters include: Carolyn S. Kelly, IAAI-CFI - retired State Fire Marshal; currently an investigator for Independent Investigations, a private investigation firm. The program is sponsored by MCRA - Madison Planning Committee. The MCRA, formerly the Association of Wisconsin Cleaning Contractors provides training and education for cleaning and restoration contractors in Wisconsin.