A free interactive online training program for fire fighters and arson investigators that features fire research, video footage and expert analysis from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is now available. Launched by the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), the program is the first Internet-based course onwww.cfitrainer.net, a new educational network.

The course, "Fire Dynamics and Fire Modeling," provides a review of tools an investigator can employ to develop a technical analysis of a fire incident. Daniel Madrzykowski, NIST fire protection engineer and lead researcher in many of the experimental fire tests, helped develop the course and narrates many of its segments.

Course participants can observe fire investigation techniques such as physical testing, hand calculations and zone models, as well as "virtual reality"