University News
Fire Administration Students Get Hands-On Experience
May 5, 2005
MACOMB, IL - - Two Western Illinois University law enforcement and justice administration (LEJA) students are making the most of their educational experiences by taking part in highly competitive internship programs. Elizabeth Brueck (Burlington, IA) and Tim Sapieka (Park Ridge, IL) are pursuing careers in fire investigation as part of Westerns LEJA fire administration sequence.
Sapieka, who was a volunteer firefighter for Macombs Emmet-Chalmers Fire Protection District while at Western, is an intern with the Florida State Fire Marshal in the Florida Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations. He is currently employed at the Daytona Beach Office of the Central Region, which covers three separate counties. His primary duty is to investigate high dollar losses, fatalities and possible arson cases.
We are contacted when the city or county investigator suspects that a fire is suspicious in nature or is caused by arson, he said. If there is more than a million dollar loss, a civilian fatality or firefighter injury, we are required by law to investigate the fire.
At the fire scene, Sapieka determines the cause and origin by photographing and collecting evidence. The evidence is usually charred, but according to Sapieka, traces of liquid accelerants such as gasoline are still detectable by scent.
The evidence is sent to the crime lab to confirm an accelerants presence and to positively identify the substance. Sapieka and the other investigators conduct interviews and uncover financial and insurance records to establish a possible motive.
It truly has been and enjoyable experience, Sapieka said. This field allows me to combine an interest in law enforcement with my experience and passion for the fire service. The knowledge I gained in my fire administration classes with Don Bytner at Western, combined with the hands-on internship experience has been invaluable to my education.
Bytner is a Western alumnus who spent 30 years in the fire service. He began his career as a volunteer firefighter and eventually became the chief of the Macomb fire department. Bytner holds more than 20 certifications of the Office of the State Fire Marshall of Illinois Division of Personnel Standards and Education. He has been a member of the International Fire Chief's Association, Illinois Fire Chief's Association and the Illinois Society of Fire Service Instructors. He has been published in the Fire Chief, Fire Engineering, Fire Command, American School and University and the Illinois Municipal Review.
Brueck has also gained valuable experience working with the premier training facility for fire personnel in the country, the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) Arson Program in Emmitsburg, MD.
As a part of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the mission of the USFA is to reduce life and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies through leadership, advocacy, coordination and support. As part of her internship, Brueck helps the USFA provide public education, training, technology and data initiatives related to fire prevention, investigation and emergency services.
My major responsibility throughout my internship has been updating and revising the on-campus arson courses, Brueck said. Some include the fire and arson investigation courses, which address the basic skills needed to conduct fire investigations and the methods for conducting fire investigations resulting in prosecution for arson.
Other courses Brueck reviewed included the interview, interrogation and courtroom techniques course and the dynamics-fire modeling course that combines physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering principles to describe the burning process through computerized modeling of actual fire scenes.
I feel that my course work at Western proved to be extremely valuable in the completion of my internship, she said. Had it not been for the classes I took in fire prevention and arson investigation I would not have had the background to fulfill my internships requirements.
After the completion of their internships, Brueck and Sapieka hope to work as fire investigators in their cities of choice.
I would recommend Westerns internship program to anyone who wants to excel in the fire service field, Brueck said. It is a lot of hard work, but every day I go home with the feeling that I can make a difference in someones life.
Westerns fire administration minor, which was established in the LEJA department in Fall 2002, along with its Open Learning Fire Service program through Non-Traditional Programs and the National Fire Academy, are offered as distance learning courses to firefighters throughout the world. Through a web-based program, firefighters and Western students can take fire science courses to fit their needs for a minor, BOT/BA degree, continuing education or certification.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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