CAL FIRE's Damage Inspection Program -- Its Evolution and Implementation

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CAL FIRE's Damage Inspection Program -- Its Evolution and Implementation
Andrew Henning, CAL FIRE Jonathan Cox, CAL FIRE David Shew, CAL FIRE

In 2015, two of the most damaging wildfires in California state history occurred. The Valley Fire resulted in over 1,900 structures destroyed; in less than 24 hours the fire grew to over 50,000 acres. The Butte Fire destroyed 545 residences and 356 outbuildings. In 1997, FIRESCOPE organized a Damage Inspection (DINS) Task Force to develop a curriculum and support materials. The DINS program has since evolved to adopt new technology and collect additional data; today it uses a combination of geographic information system (GIS) and mobile apps to collect and analyze the data of wildland fire damage. This presentation will provide an overview of the development and evolution of California's DINS program; analyze the data collected at the Valley and Butte Fires; and explore the path forward for the California's DINS program as well as the CAL FIRE - Office of the State Fire Marshal Wildland Fire Engineering program.

Presented by:

Andrew Henning, CAL FIRE
Andrew Henning is a Deputy State Fire Marshal III (Specialist) with CAL FIRE - Office of the State Fire Marshal's Code Development and Analysis Division. Prior to working there, Andrew worked as a Fire Protection Design Engineer with a leading design-build mechanical contractor. Andrew is a member of the Northern California Fire Prevention Officers Association. He holds a BS in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology and an MS in Homeland Security.

Jonathan Cox, CAL FIRE
Jonathan Cox is a Battalion Chief with CAL FIRE assigned to fire prevention and fire hazard planning throughout Northern California. Jonathan and his team act as agency advisors to local government counties and cities on wildland urban interface (WUI) policy and other fire-related land use planning issues. Additionally, Jonathan's team lead damage inspection operations after large and damaging fires throughout the state. Jonathan is a State of California certified Chief Officer and holds a Masters Degree in Disaster Management from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He is an active member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and is a member of CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 6.

David Shew, CAL FIRE
David Shew is a Staff Chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), overseeing the Planning and Risk Analysis Division within the Office of the State Fire Marshal. This Division includes the California Strategic Fire Plan, Wildland Pre-Fire Engineering, Land Use Planning, CAIRS (California All Incident Reporting System), and the State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Fee Program. David began his career with CAL FIRE in 1986. He spent many years working in various field positions, as well as the Fire Marshal for Napa County, CA. David is a Type I PIO, and worked on CAL FIRE Incident Command Team #3 for 11 years, responding to many large wildfires and other emergency incidents. He is also teaches CAL FIRE's Advanced Leadership training program. Prior to his fire service career, David worked as a licensed architect, designing structures in both Northern and Southern California.