The Fire Line Is Thinnin. Why We Must Prepare the Next Generation of Fire Investigators

Vithyaa Thavapalan BSc, MSc, GradDipFI, IAAI-FIT(V), NAFI-CFEI

In the next decade, nearly 50% of the world’s fire investigators are expected to retire.

That’s not just a passing statisti, it’s a warning. A slow-burning crisis that threatens not only our profession but the industries that rely on us: insurance, law, risk management, and public safety.

We're facing a significant and imminent loss of knowledge, experience, and credibility in a field where judgment cannot be rushed and expertise cannot be Googled.

A Knowledge Cliff We Can’t Afford

Fire investigation is not just science. It’s the culmination of technical understanding, hands-on scene experience, and the ability to translate complex findings into simple, credible conclusions, in reports, in courtrooms, and in claims offices.

As veteran investigators prepare to hang up their helmets, the industry faces a growing gap:

• For insurers: Delayed investigations, unclear liability, and increased claims disputes.

• For lawyers: Fewer seasoned expert witnesses with courtroom-tested credibility.

• For clients and the public: Greater risk of misdiagnosis, miscommunication, and lost trust.

Fewer investigators doesn’t just mean more work. It means more risk.

When we lose fire origin and cause expertise, we don’t just lose the ability to close individual cases, we lose the foundation for broader safety improvements. The data and insights gathered from investigations play a critical role in shaping building, mechanical and electrical codes, informing product safety standards, and evolving firefighting strategies and tactics. Without clear, objective analysis grounded in experience, we can’t answer the most important question: What happened? And when that answer is missing, so is the opportunity to learn and the chance to prevent the next fire.

Old Age Is Inevitable, But So Is Preparation

Retirement is a natural part of any profession. But in ours, if we don’t act now, we risk letting decades of critical knowledge disappear overnight.

At Forensic Origin and Cause Investigations, we know firsthand how much of this craft lives in the minds and instincts of experienced professionals, things you can’t always teach in a textbook, but must witness, practice, and live.

This is a call to action.

To our fellow fire investigators: We can’t afford to wait. We need to:

• Mentor early and often

• Allow shadowing and scene exposure

• Share our wins, our mistakes, and our methods

• Write, document, and demystify our knowledge

• Stay engaged, even post-retirement, as educators and advisors

  
  

To clients in insurance and law: you play a role too. Consider partnering with companies who actively train the next generation. Invest in workshops. Support certification programs. Recognise that fast, defensible, high-quality investigations rely on sustainable talent pipelines.

Lighting the Way Forward

We’re at a crossroads. The fires of today, EV batteries, smart home malfunctions, lithium-ion storage, climate-fueled bushfires, require investigators who understand new risks and evolving technologies, while still grounding their work in fire science fundamentals.

We need more investigator but not just any investigators. We need those who are trained properly, mentored ethically, and supported early.

At Forensic Origin and Cause Investigations, we’re not just here to share knowledge. We’re here to keep the flame alive.

So to the veterans: your work isn't done until your wisdom is passed on. Have a plan and think about your legacy. To the newcomers: we see you, we need you, and we’re ready to back you.

And to those who depend on us, insurers, lawyers, clients, we ask you to support the long game. Because a strong, credible fire investigation industry is in everyone’s best interest.

After all, fire may destroy, but knowledge builds. Let’s make sure we don’t lose one while trying to understand the other.