Investigation of Gas and Electric Appliance Fires

Join us for our intensive 4-day, in-lab, hands-on program for fire investigators.

Available Dates:

Tuition is $850 per person.

Register early! This class is limited to the first 48 students.

Held on site at the Fire Findings laboratory testing facility - 2026 Plaza Drive, Benton Harbor, Michigan.

40 minutes from South Bend (Ind.) or Kalamazoo (Mich.) airports and 2 hours from Chicago airports.

St. Joseph/Benton Harbor is located along the southern shores of Lake Michigan - a gorgeous area to visit.

Course Background

Investigation of Gas and Electric Appliance Fires is a hands-on learning experience conducted in the Fire Findings laboratory. You'll learn how appliances work, fail and cause fires, as well as how to examine them.

Optional CFI test credits and CEU credits available.

Jim Finneran and Jack Sanderson, experts in fire origin and cause, created this investigation course 22 years ago to satisfy the need for hands-on technical experience that can't be achieved in a traditional classroom setting. They developed the curriculum, wrote and illustrated the course notebook and designed and built more than 25 product-failure demonstrations.

During the four-day course, you'll test yourself by examining normal, failed and tampered-with components and appliances to gain practical experience for field examinations. You'll analyze actual case studies from your instructors' files and see how X-ray examinations provide an introduction to nondestructive testing.

Your tuition also includes a notebook with more than 175 pages of original material, including failure discussions, component drawings and diagrams. It's written especially for this seminar by Fire Findings' experts. Optional test credits toward CFI certification are also available along with continuing education credits.

About Your Instructors

Jack L. Sanderson, is a certified fire investigator (CFI) specializing in appliance failures. He's completed Honeywell, Whirlpool, Maycor and National Propane Association factory training. Sanderson, with more than 30 years in-the-field experience, is a nationally recognized speaker, expert and author on appliance fires.

James M. Finneran, who specializes in electrical fire causes, is also an independent fire investigator. Finneran has testified in major product failure fire cases throughout the United States, and he's played an instrumental role in several of the largest product recalls by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. He also serves as a representative on the NFPA 921 Technical Committee on Fire Investigations.

Finneran and Sanderson have instructed thousands of independent and public investigators, attorneys and insurance claims representatives in the area of fire origin and cause investigation. In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Washington D.C., and numerous state chapters of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), have called on them to present training sessions.

Nathan P. Dwyer, Fire Findings’ electrical expert, is a CFI specializing in electrical fire investigation and fire-involved appliance analysis. He has been a speaker at various IAAI conferences and is an excellent presenter who makes difficult subjects understandable.

Course Outline

4 Day Session
  • Days 1, 2 and 3 classes are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time.
  • Day 4 class is 8:30 to 2 p.m.

Gas appliance instruction schedule includes:

  • High- and low-order explosion demonstrations
  • Natural vs. LP gases
  • Potential gas piping failures
  • Gas regulator functions with demonstration of cut-a-way regulators
  • Excessive and inadequate pressure demonstration
  • Operation of combination gas valves
    • Safety shutoff demonstration
    • Ignition of gas leaking through shutoffs
  • Operation of water heaters
    • Demonstrations of water heater failure modes
    • How to examine failed water heaters
    • Investigation of possible water heater fires
  • Operation of standard and high-efficiency furnaces
    • How to examine components (high limits, fan switches, thermostats)
  • Demonstrations of furnace failure modes
    • How to examine failed furnaces
    • What to look for in suspected furnace fires
  • Water heaters and furnaces as incendiary devices
  • Operation of clothes dryers
    • Examination of components (high limits, heating elements, timers)
    • Role of lint
    • Failure modes
    • Examination of failed dryers - what to look for
    • Investigation of suspected dryer fires
    • How to identify a dryer's manufacturer
  • Morning - coffee, juice and bakery items each morning.
  • Friday lunch included.
  • Snacks and beverages throughout the day.

Electric appliance instruction schedule includes:

  • Ranges: Did the range come on by itself or did someone leave it operating?
    • Infinite control switches — how they work and how to examine them post-fire
    • Fire-causing failure modes: unzipping a range’s heating elements, control panel fires
  • Refrigerators: Too cold to burn? Obviously not.
    • Examination and identification of components — where and what they are
    • Appreciation of a refrigerator’s contribution to a fire: fuel!
    • Fire-causing failure modes
  • Dishwashers: What was that about not combining electricity and water?
    • Examination and identification of components — where and what they are
    • Heating element, timer, limit and float switches
    • The role of rinse-aid
    • The dangers of mixing electricity and water
  • Microwave ovens: What’s inside? Examination and identification of components
    • Fire-causing failure modes
    • Incendiary devices
  • Small appliances fires

As time permits, fans, toasters (today’s toaster is not the same as your mother’s appliance), clothes irons (they seem like obvious fire causes but maybe not), space heaters and coffeemakers, etc.

    • What is and isn’t a fuel when it comes to appliances
    • Using fire investigation principles on a macro-scale — adapting arc-mapping to appliance fire analysis
    • Avoiding spoliation claims using nondestructive methodology
    • Does a product recall make a fire cause? Doesn’t no recall mean the appliance didn’t start the fire?

... and more!

More Information

While you're visiting along the Lake Michigan shoreline...
The Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council has a visitor information packet just for Fire Findings’ seminar participants. To get yours,
call (269) 925-6301.

We recommend the Benton Harbor Holiday Inn Express for your hotel accommodations.
Holiday Inn Express is about 5 minutes from the lab and your stay includes a free “Fresh Start” breakfast, 2-line telephones and data ports in every room, an indoor pool and spa.

For $74 per night, choose from a room with 1 king or 2 double beds. King leisure suites, which also include a pullout sofa, microwave and refrigerator, are $94 per night. Add 8 percent tax.

To make your reservations, call the Benton Harbor Holiday Inn Express directly at (269) 927-4599.

(Please note: Reservations at our corporate rate may not be made on-line. Call (269) 927-4599 to obtain the special seminar rates. Mention you're with Fire Findings.)

The Holiday Inn Express is located at 2276 Pipestone Road, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022.

Hotel reservation deadline: 30 days in advance of the date of the seminar. First-come, first serve at this special rate. Don't wait too long to make your reservation after you've been confirmed for the seminar session of your choice.

IMPORTANT: Check conference availability before making your hotel, automobile or flight reservations. Please call us at (269) 925-2200 during regular business hours to confirm seminar openings.

Have we answered all your questions?
If not ...
Call Fire Findings: (269) 925-2200
E-mail us: