SWAIT Reno 2027
WHEN
FEBRUARY 2, 3 & 4, 2027
In Person
Early Registration
$410 per person
Late Registration
after January 1st, 2027
$450 per person
WHERE
REGIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER
5190 Spectrum Blvd
Reno, NV 89506
On Demand/Virtual
$295
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Is your agency looking for specialty training in wildland arson? Contact us for your wildland arson training needs.
Support@invfconsultants.com
Synopsis:
This year’s training will focus on a higher level of case linkage and analysis than we’ve ever presented before. Experienced speakers will help attendees hone advanced skills for “pulling more information from a rural fire scene,” connecting a series of arson events through forensics, witness interviews, tracking techniques, geo‑spatial analysis, and behavioral analysis. This will be followed by a detailed examination of a real major series of unsolved fires (including arson murders) and analysis of all evidence located to date. This will be one of the most advanced classes we have ever presented.
A highly experienced arson prosecutor who has received international awards will provide practical training on legal issues associated with wildland arson and will present a large serial-arson case he successfully adjudicated.
Real-world serial/wildland arson investigation training is hard to come by. Networking opportunities abound at this high-caliber event. We invite you to join us in Reno and encourage you to bring colleagues for this invaluable experience.
Make sure to sign up for the newsletter for additional training updates and keep an eye on the website for additional information on SWAIT Reno 2027.
Due to high demand, the course will once again be offered “live On Demand” or streaming for a limited time for those unable to attend in person.
Schedule
Day 1
Tuesday Feb 2, 2027
0745-0800 Check-in
0800 - 0815 Opening Remarks
Nordskog/Taylor/Fischer
0815 - 1200 Maximizing Your Investigation for Successful Prosecution
Sean M. Carney
1315 - 1700 Beyond the Fire Scene: The Forensic Interpretation of Human Movement
Randy Anglin
Day 2
Wednesday Feb 3, 2027
0800 - 1200 TBD
1315 - 1700 TBD
Day 3
Thursday Feb 4, 2027
0800 - 1200 Technology and the Arson Investigation
Jesse Sprague
1315 - 1700 TBD
We reserve the right to change the schedule due to unforeseen circumstances and last minute cancellations from our speakers. The speaker or the agency/company they work for are responsible for the content of their presentations. Opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of INVF Consultants and the Serial Wildland Arson Investigation Training. See Terms and Conditions for additional details.
Randy Anglin
Lionstrike, LLC
Contact: randy@lionstrike.com (602) 696-0161
Randy is an Arizona-licensed private investigator, forensic consultant, and instructor specializing in forensic photography, surveillance, accident reconstruction, and the forensic interpretation of human movement.
Randy began his law enforcement career in 1984 and later served with the Arizona Department of Public Safety in the Highway Patrol Bureau and Vehicular Crimes Unit. His investigative experience includes major criminal investigations, crime scene processing, forensic photography, footwear evidence, evidence recovery, surveillance, and reconstruction.
His tracking experience has included specialized training with the United States Border Patrol, fugitive and forensic tracking operations, human-remains recovery, and the study of behavioral decision-making during pursuit and evasion. In 2006, he authored a white paper examining the “Psychology of the Chase” and the behavioral dynamics associated with pursuit and evasion.
Since retiring from AZDPS, Randy has continued to provide investigative, surveillance, forensic, and training services to government and private-sector clients. He has taught investigators throughout the United States and Canada, including fire, arson, and explosion investigators, and has previously presented “Forensic Tracking as it Relates to Fire Investigations.”
Randy is a Board Certified Evidence Photographer, recipient of the Evidence Photographers International Association’s R.H. Haskin Award for Meritorious Service in forensic photography, and an instructor for professional organizations including the International Association of Arson Investigators.
Class Topic: Beyond the Fire Scene: The Forensic Interpretation of Human Movement
Class Synopsis: Every human movement leaves a record. In wildland investigations, that record may be distributed across photographs, witness statements, surveillance video, license plate reader data, timelines, discarded property, environmental changes, and occasionally traditional ground sign.
This presentation examines how investigators can recognize those seemingly independent observations as parts of a larger behavioral and investigative landscape. Attendees will explore how movement, route selection, terrain interaction, decision points, displacement, transfer, discarded property, and even absence can help reconstruct human activity before, during, and after a fire.
Rather than teaching tactical tracking or the pursuit of a continuous trail, the presentation focuses on investigative reasoning and the forensic interpretation of movement. Through photographs, mapping, timelines, physical evidence, and wildland case studies, attendees will examine how multiple independent sources of information can be integrated into a defensible reconstruction of human activity.
The goal is to help investigators look beyond the immediate fire scene and recognize relationships within the larger landscape that might otherwise remain disconnected.
Jesse Spague
Ecospectra.com
Contact: Jesse@ecospectra.com
Jesse Sprague is a geospatial data scientist and software engineer, and the founder and CEO of Ax0n Intelligence Company, maker of the Echospectra fire investigation platform. His work centers on acquiring, processing, and defensibly presenting spatial and remotely sensed data for fire intelligence, including investigation and forensic reconstruction.
He has supported prosecutors, counsel, insurers, and utilities on arson, serial arson, and wildfire matters involving witness-media geolocation, cell-location mapping, fire progression reconstruction, and exhibit development. He has instructed CAL FIRE law enforcement and the California Conference of Arson Investigators, and has presented at conferences in the United States and Europe.
He holds a B.S. in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of New Mexico, where he also completed graduate coursework in GIScience and worked in the Geospatial Sciences for Environmental Management Lab.
Class Topic: Technology and the Arson Investigation
Class Synopsis: What current geospatial and data-analysis technology can do for the fire investigator, and where it falls short. The session opens with a plain-language introduction to spatial and spatiotemporal data: how it is collected, structured, analyzed, and displayed so that it holds up under scrutiny. Then we will work through applied techniques: locating and orienting witness photos and video using terrain ray intersection, viewshed analysis to test what a witness or camera could have seen, fire progression reconstruction, and the analysis and visualization of cell-location records. Digital field documentation tools, including the Echospectra app and its photo narrative module, are covered briefly.
The emphasis throughout is on method and defensibility: what each technique assumes, what it can support, and how to present it. Casework examples throughout.
Sean M. Carney
Deputy District Attorney
LA County District Attorney’s Office
Contact: scarney@da.lacounty.gov
Sean is a career prosecutor with 28 years of trial experience in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. His early assignments in the Major Narcotics and Organized Crime Divisions focused on complex conspiracy prosecutions, before transitioning 17 years ago to specialize in arson and explosives cases. Sean has prosecuted hundreds of arson cases ranging from serial arson to arson-murder. He served as lead prosecutor in high-profile serial arson prosecutions, including People v. Harry Burkhart (the Hollywood Arsonist) and People v. Kurt Billie (the North Hollywood Arsonist). In addition to trial work, he has also litigated and defended decades-old arson-murder convictions against post-conviction challenges brought by innocence projects.
Recognized as an authority on fire and explosives prosecutions, Sean frequently lectures on the successful investigation and prosecution of serial and complex arson cases for organizations including the National District Attorney’s Association, the California Conference of Arson Investigators, and various federal and state law enforcement agencies.
Class Topic: The End Game: Maximizing Your Investigation of Serial and Wildland Fires for a Successful Prosecution.
Class Synopsis: This session examines how investigations into serial and wildland fires can anticipate and meet the rigorous legal requirements for a successful courtroom prosecution. Topics include recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding search warrants for geofence and location-based data, gathering evidence to prove intent, anticipating and investigating mental health defenses, specialized interview techniques, and the preparation of expert witness reports and testimony. Discussion will also cover multi-agency coordination, including cross-jurisdictional collaboration between state and federal prosecutors.
These principles will be illustrated through case material from the investigation and trial of the Hollywood Arsonist, who terrorized the greater Los Angeles area with numerous residential structure fires using unique incendiary devices over a 5-day span. This high-stakes case presented unique challenges—including coordinating multiple law enforcement and fire agencies, managing hundreds of witnesses (including those from foreign jurisdictions), presenting complex expert testimony, and navigating a dual guilt- and sanity-phase trial resulting in conviction and a recent parole denial by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.