WESTFIELD–Some students at Westfield Technical Academy were paid a visit by the city’s fire department this week.
Westfield Fire Deputy Chief and fire investigator Eric Bishop visited three of Mary Beth Berrien’s forensics classes on Tuesday, to discuss what is done during fire investigation, as part of the Retire the Fire events that have been ongoing throughout the week, as well as to provide the class with real-world experiences.
“The idea was to use community resources to bring real world experience to the students. Instead of being books, we can bring real world experience to it,” Bishop said.
Westfield Fire Deputy Chief Eric Bishop talks with one of Mary Beth Berrien’s classes about fire investigation
Bishop spoke about a number of topics related to fire investigation but kept focusing on one point in particular–the scientific method.
Bishop explained that when investigating fires, it’s important to use the scientific method–the one taught to middle and high school students in many science classes–in order to figure out what happened.
“All fires have to be investigated,” Bishop said. “And we use the scientific method to investigate fires.”
Bishop outlined the steps in the method to the students, which included recognizing the problem, collecting and analyzing data, and developing and testing a hypothesis.
In addition, Bishop taught students what other factors should be considered when looking at fires. There are factors such as weather, origin of the fire and what sort of products can help accelerate a fire in a home. The latter point was further reinforced with a video that showed a modern couch that was set up inside of a modern-appearing living room, which caught fire and spread throughout the room within a minute. The video was taken in a controlled environment from a class on fire investigation that Bishop had previously attended in Maryland.
And if that wasn’t enough, Bishop also made sure to keep the students on their toes and ready–he held a fire drill, which are mandated, between first and second period.
“I really want to expose the kids to different things,” Berrien said. “This is a part of everyday life.”
Berrien said that she hopes to get law enforcement into the class next, both locally and from the federal branches.
