Flash Point The Official Publication of the San Luis Obispo Fire Investigation Strike Team, Inc.

In this issue Forensic Fire Death Investigation Class 2018 FFDIC Progress Report Proctor Profiles John Madden Awards Active Arson Cases Carr Fire Jeremy Stoke

SLOFIST Executive Board

John Madden, CEO

Barb Kessel, CFO

Dr. Elayne Pope, Chief of Train- ing Another successful class with live fire demonstrations in San Luis Obispo. Dr. Robert Kimsey, Secretary- Students from all over the world came to attend the week long class. A spe- Forensic Sciences Director cial thank you to all the proctors and logistical support staff who made this Tim Eckles, Chief of Safety another great workshop. Dennis Byrnes, Chief of Logistics Jeff Zimmerman. Editor

SLOFIST is a 501 © (3) Non-profit organization

Box 1041, Atascadero, CA 93423

Www.slofist.org

Copyright 2018 SLOFIST Inc. Class Objectives Met with Great Results

According to John Madden this was the best class so far. A special thank you SLOFIST Directors to all the proctors and logistical support staff who made this another great Jeremy Davis, Chairman of BOD workshop. Hours of preparation made the program run smoothly . The pro- Eric Emmanuelle, Director posed dates for next years class is June 24-28, 2019, please mark your cal- Jeremy Kosick, Director, Web Master endars and plan on attending. Dr. Alison Galloway, Director

Several students had the op- Danielle Wishon, Director portunity to explore career options in both the fire ser- vices and law enforcement fields. Intern Lovey Corneil got to suit up and extinguish one of the live burns and at- tack a fire with CDC fire crew in full PPE. Yamillette Rullan from San Bernardino got to use the jaws of life and other tools for extrication. Several

CAL Fire PCF’s were able to The San Luis Obispo Fire Investiga- examine V patterns first hand tion Strike Team (SLOFIST) was formed in 1994 providing for quali- with trained investigators. fied public safety personnel with an Learning is always the key to expertise in fire related investigations success. to San Luis Obispo County’s local jurisdictions. SLOFIST members are working public safety investigators who conduct investigations of fire scenes for fire origin and cause, ex- plosions for determination of cause and identification, preservation and collection of evidence related to ex- plosions, hazardous materials inci- dents and other investigations. The corporation is the training and edu- cation arm of the task force.

Elayne Pope, The Dame of Flame

Doctor Pope Wins the John Madden Service Award for Excellence

The John Madden award is given out to those who have donated a tremendous amount of time and expertise to the FFDIC.

Doctor Pope was one of the recipi- ents of this years John Madden awards for excellence in education. A second service award was pre- sented to Jenny Wilkins for her continued service from Meri Edu- cation and Research Institute . Congratulations to all re- Bob Adams also received a 10 year cipients for well deserved service award. awards. Special mention to Brian Salce 5 Cities Fire Department and Sgt Steve Neumann from the CHP for excellent logistical support. It is the people that make SLOFIST great!

Congratulations to Jenny Wilkins and Meri Education and Research Institute for continued support of SLOFIST Inc.

Keeping a Watchful Eye on It All

New Board Members Elected Con- gratulations to Dr. Alison Galloway and to Danielle Wishon. Their con- tributions will really enhance SLOFIST and the FFDIC.

Pictures of the 2018 FFDIC program in San Luis Obispo CA.

FFDIC Class of 2018

Dr. Bob Kimsey and his interns Next SLOFIST FFDIC dates are June 24-28, 2019 at Spring Hill Suites, Atascadero CA.

An amazing week of learn- ing in the field with live fire.

A one of a kind class of intense in- struction, a must see, hands on pro- gram for skilled fire investigators.

Students sifting through burnt Photos Jeff Zimmerman debris to find bone fragments at FFDIC. Anthropologists, dentists, arson investigators, coroners and law enforcement officers all took part in the week long course pre- paring students for investigations involving fire deaths. Students learned to preserve and docu- ment evidence with live fire sce- narios.

Photos Jeff Zimmerman

Article and Photos by Jeff Zimmerman

A tremendous amount of time and effort goes into the logistical support for the event, obtaining vehicles to burn, building cubi- cles and garages for live fire demonstrations. After the event the site must be left in broom clean condition. Dennis Byrnes and his logistical team helped to build props and is seen here us- ing the hydraulic cutters.

Makeshift cubicles and carports used for live fire props give accurate temper- ature reading s for students via thermal couples put in place beforehand by UC Davis students. Several vehicles were consumed in controlled scenarios to show students how to investigate fatal vehicle fires. Current Arson Cases

Riverside County Arson Files Two extremely disturbing reported arson cases that have caused serious structural loss in River- side and Orange Counties from intense wildfires this quarter. Mr. Brandon Mc Clover age 32, has been arraigned on 15 felony counts of arson in the Idylwild area. The largest and most destructive The second arson case is Mr. Forest Gordon fire, Cranston Fire. There was no clearly defined Clark, age 51, is accused by prosecutors of motive for why there were nine fires started on setting the Holy fire which destroyed 18 July 25, 2018. Several homes were destroyed and buildings in Holy Jim Canyon and Lake Elsi- 7,000 people were evacuated. 13, 139 acres were nore area. 23,000 acres have been consumed. charred before it was contained on August 10, Mr. Clark has been undergoing psychiatric 2018. evaluation to see if he is competent to stand Of course all suspects are presumed innocent un- trial since there were problems in the ar- til proven guilty. Information regarding these two raignment phase with reported irrational be- cases have been provided by NY Times, OC Regis- havior. The fire broke out on August 6, 2018 ter, Desert Sun, NBC Los Angeles, USA Today, at 1:15 pm and quickly roared out of Holy Jim ABC 7 news, Times of San Diego, Press enterprise, Canyon and destroyed several homes. There CBS 8. This information is not provided to allude have been several destructive fires including innocence or guilt of any party involved. loss of life fires such as the Esperanza fire which are of importance for investigators to research.

Photos Jeff Zimmerman As fire conditions worsened and large amounts of fuel A Tribute to Engineer were being consumed at break neck speeds, a fire tor- nado with winds of F3 velocity estimated at 143 MPH Jeremy Stoke swept over Buena Ventura Road just south of Kes- wick Dam Road. Several dozer operators became en- trapped as their wind shields blew out sending blister- ing heat into the cabs. The dozer operators had to seek immediate shelter; one operator escaped in a Cal Fire prevention truck with another civilian wrapped in a fire shelter. Engineer Jeremy Stoke of the City of Redding Fire De- partment and former FFDIC student put out a mayday that he too needed help and that he was trapped by the inferno in his pickup truck. It was re- ported that Stokes was trying to evacuate homeown- ers in the area when he was overtaken by the fire tor- nado and erratic fire behavior. A freak phenomena to say the least, catching many off guard as it progressed

LODD Redding California into the City. Many have never seen a large fire whirl, needless to say a F3 tornado filled with fire, throwing everything into the air. Branches torn loose from oak trees, metal pipes from electrical transmission lines, parts of cars and homes all being sucked up into a On July 26, 2018 it was a stifling 111 degrees in Redding vortex with extreme violence. California as the Carr fire exploded into the western edge of the City. Firefighters from across much of the West Stoke, a student at the last FFDIC would unfortunate- had been battling the intense Carr fire near Whiskey ly perish in the fire storm, his last full measure of du- Town National Recreation area when strong westerly ty. It was with this type of bravery that firefighters winds pushed the wildfire through the remote towns of fought to save the lives of imperiled citizens and their Old Shasta and Keswisk destroying everything in its path. property in Redding. As the night progressed radio As the fire approached Redding, a bulldozer operator was transmissions crackled into the dispatch center as to frantically trying to find refuge and was overtaken by what was unfolding, the news was horrific. flames and killed. Shortly thereafter members from the Many homes were devoured and lives shattered by Marin Fire Department were also entrapped suffering the flames as the fire continued to march to the east. burns. The Keswick fire station was destroyed by a mas- By morning it was estimated that 1,000 homes lay in sive flame front and it appeared City of Redding would be ruins, total ash pits of destruction, and that two fire- next. fighters had been killed and several firefighters Brave firefighters scrambled to the West side of the City suffered burn injuries. along Buena Ventura Blvd to save homes. Occupants Jeremy Stoke would leave this world leaving behind a were fleeing the area as a hundred foot wall of flame wife and two children and a wonderful legacy of ser- roared down the canyon. With extreme burning condi- vice and bravery. It is our privilege to honor his life in tions a thermal low developed over the area as the smoke this publication. plume rose to some 40,000 feet and started to rotate.

On August 11, 2018 CEO John Madden, Board Members Jeremy Davis , Samantha Peek and Jeff Zimmerman attended Mr. Stoke’s memori- al. Hundreds of firefighters from around the State attended the solemn memorial service to honor Jeremy; who was remembered as a kind family man with a good sense of humor. He was a well respected investigator . The loss of Jeremy has shaken the members of SLOFIST Inc to the core and as a result They have made a memorial scholarship in his name.

Memorial procession for Jeremy Stoke, 8-11,2018 in Redding California. Mem- bers of the pipes and drums led the procession. Pictures from Redding California and en- trapment site. The outlook for the remainder of the 2018 fire season Instructor Profiles may see well above average acreage, intensity and po- Alison Galloway is a Professor of Anthropolo- tential for catastrophic loss should the Santa Ana gy at the University of California, Santa winds develop. Fuel moistures are at record lows and Cruz. She earned her degree at the University intensity and rate of spread has been off the charts this of Arizona and taught at the University of summer. Very few thunderstorms produced little or no Tennessee, Knoxville before returning to the rain in the summer months in southern California. West Coast. Currently she works as a consult- Records have already been broken for California’s larg- ant for many counties across the mid-section est fire on the Mendocino complex. Over 1,2 million of the state and also works for defense coun- acres have been scorched statewide and over a thou- sel. She is ABFA certified and a Fellow of the sand homes have already been destroyed. Extreme fire American Academy of Forensic Sciences. behavior has been recorded across these fires with nu- merous fire whirls and an f3 tornado that killed Jeremy Stoke. The first half of summer saw impressive fire behavior on the Mendocino , Sierra and Cleveland National For- ests. As the sun progresses to the south and Fall ap- proaches we should see the northerly winds surface in LA ,San Bernardino and Ventura Counties as cooler air subsides over the Rockies and Great Basin. If ignition occurs during a wind event explosive rates of spread maybe encountered with thousands of homes put in "Daniel Wishon: Originally from Coro- peril. nado, CA, and raised in Las Vegas, NV. Please keep an eye on the NOAA fire weather forecasts She graduated from UC Davis in 2013 for updated fire weather. Numerous fire whirls and with a Bachelor's of Science degree in very erratic winds have been problematic this year Entomology. Her emphasis was in Fo- with extreme temperatures. Safety is of paramount rensic Entomology, studying under Dr. concern. Robert Kimsey. After school, she worked as a Forensic Investigator for the Sacra- mento Police Department's Forensic Unit. She has been a volunteer partici- pant with SLOFIST Inc. since 2010."