In this episode, Randy Watson discusses the importance and value of the NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations with John.


Mr. Watson is the Director of Technical Training for S-E-A. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina. Prior to joining SEA in 1992, he spent 15 years investigating fires and explosions for the fire service, law enforcement, and private sector. As the Director of Technical Training, he is responsible for the coordination of all training and mentoring of new engineers and investigators.  All new technical staff go through an extensive training and mentoring program prior to being released to conduct investigations and analysis of their own matters.  Mr. Watson began his affiliation with the National Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee on Fire Investigation in 1991 and continues to serve as a principal member. From 2002 through 2007 he served as the Committee Secretary. Since January of 2008, Mr. Watson has served as the committee chairman. This is the committee responsible for writing “NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations”. Mr. Watson also serves on the NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Investigator Professional Qualifications. This committee is responsible for writing “NFPA 1033 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigators”.  Mr. Watson also served on the NFPA Professional Qualifications Correlating Committee (Principle) and the NFPA Technical Committee for Fire Investigation Units (Chairman).

Mr. Watson hold various certifications for fire investigation, as well as fire investigation instruction. Throughout his career, Mr. Watson has qualified as an expert witness and provided testimony in numerous federal, state, and local jurisdictions. He is a licensed fire investigator in numerous states. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International), serving on the E05 Committee-Fire Standards and the E30 Committee-Forensic Science; the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE); the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)(Board of Directors 2014 – 2020); the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI) (Board of Directors 2008 – 2019). 

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Hosted by John McDermott
Produced by John McDermott
Edited by Shawn "LSS" Smith