CFI Programme

The Certified Fire Investigator Programme (CFI)

The Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) Program is a voluntary certification program administered by the International Association of Arson Investigators. The goal of the CFI program is to acknowledge demonstrated competence in the field of fire Investigation. Once successfully completed, the CFI program is a real distinction that acknowledges an individuals demonstrated competency in all phases of fire investigation through completion of a detailed application and written examination process.

The CFI Program has several benefits:

Allows the Fire Investigation Professional to be recognised as having demonstrated competency in all phases of fire investigation.
Encourages continuing education and training in the field of fire investigation.
The CFI certification program requires minimum levels of Education, Training, and Experience in the field of fire investigation. It is a program that seeks a realistic balance between those areas to insure that an applicant's experience is well rounded and not purely academic.

Today more than ever we are seeing changes in the field of fire investigation. Many things have made our job in determining fire origin and cause extremely challenging. One way of meeting that challenge and to keep pace with the many changes in our industry is to certify as a CFI.

The CFI program is a standard measure of an individual’s competence in all phases of fire investigation. The CFI program encourages an individual to be his or her best and to stay abreast of the latest changes in the fire investigation field.

UK Update

The CFI program is now operational in the UK. John Galvin and Jack Goble worked with the IAAI CFI Committee, to produce the International Association of Arson Investigators - United Kingdom Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-UK CFI) Program. This was launched in January 2004.

We are inviting requests from fire investigators to apply to take the examination to be awarded this internationally recognised achievement. If successful, the award demonstrates that the candidate has been able to meet the highest standards required of the International IAAI CFI Committee (as approved by the Pro Board) in the areas of education, training and experience. It should be noted that the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority have agreed that the IAAI-UK CFI Program will maintain its level of credibility in the UK under the existing application and examination format.

The IAAI CFI is highly regarded and considered a passport to work on the international field.

The Application Process

You do not have to be a member of the IAAI to apply for the IAAI-UK CFI Program.

The applicant will initially register their interest in the IAAI-UK CFI Program by completion of a formal request form that includes a declaration relating to the applicant's good character (to download this document please see the useful links at the top of this page). By return the applicant will receive:

An application form
A copy of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
A study-guide stating the bibliography for the examination
An application processing fee notification form
The application form has to be completed by the applicant and a minimum point score MUST be achieved in the areas relating to education, training and experience to be eligible to sit the examination. Supporting documentation to allow verification of all claimed points MUST be provided.

The application will be scrutinised in both the UK by the Proctor and in the US by the International CFI Committee. If satisfactory a notification of examination eligibility will be sent to the applicant. The examination must be taken within 12 months of the receipt of this notification.

Download the CFI UK application form

The Examination

The format of the examination will be a multiple choice. The candidate will be presented with 100 questions taken from within the contents of the study material. The examination is a pass or fail. The score achieved by the candidate will not be revealed to the candidate or any other party.

The International IAAI CFI Committee will circulate notification of the examination result.

Should you have any questions regarding this program, please email: [email protected]
Download: 
CFI Application Form