Keith Stakes

Keith Stakes is a member of UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute. As a Lead Research Engineer, he studies
the effectiveness of fire service tactics as well as advances in firefighter safety and fireground
operations. He has both a Bachelor of Science Degree as well as a Masters of Engineering Degree in Fire
Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland. Keith has over 16 years of fire service
experience as a firefighter with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in Maryland where he
currently holds the rank of Fire/Rescue Battalion Chief. Keith also continues to serve on the NFPA
Technical Committee for Fire Service Training and the Editorial Advisory Board for FireRescue1 and Fire
Chief.

Juan Carlos Campaña López

Juan Carlos Campaña López, Chief Subofficer of the Madrid Fire Department, joined as a Firefighter in 1990. He currently serves in operational roles as Sector Chief in the 8th Fire Station in Madrid, as well as handling management tasks related to logistics and equipment.

He has been a CFBT (Compartment Fire Behavior Training) Instructor since 2005, after receiving training in Sweden. Since then, he has conducted numerous courses throughout Spain, written articles for various national magazines, and delivered presentations at national and international professional forums. He has traveled worldwide to acquire the best knowledge, skills, techniques, and tactics regarding the development and control of structural fires. All of this is aimed at improving the operational effectiveness and safety of all Spanish Firefighters. He is also responsible for the fire department branch in the National Association of Firefighters – ASELF. Since 2008, he has been part of the international group of Fire Instructors of the IFIW (International Fire Instructors Workshop).

Biography, Dr. Stefan Svensson

Stefan Svensson, currently an instructor at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, started his career as a firefighter in the Swedish Air Force in 1986. In 1989 he earned a bachelor degree in fire safety engineering and in 2002 a Ph.D. at Lund University, Sweden. Also, he has been a firefighter/crew commander at the local fire brigade for fifteen years and appointed as the regional on-scene commander in case of large incidents, including nuclear accidents. Dr. Svensson is an associate professor at Lund University and since 1994 involved in experimental and theoretical investigations on firefighting tactics, including firefighting methods as well as problems of command and control. He is the author of several books, scientific articles and reports.

Karel Lambert

Karel has been a firefighter for 21 years. He is a major with the Brussels Fire Department where he is in charge of 1^st platoon (250 firefighters) during his 24h shifts and also works as chief of the training department. He also works as a volunteer sergeant in the department that protects his home town.

Karel’s main interest is firefighting. He strongly believes that more science should be involved. He tries to improve the quality of firefighter training programs. Karel participated in training programs in the 15 countries all over the world to gather knowledge that could be spread in the firefighting community. He is a member of International Fire Instructor Workshop (IFIW) since 2010.

In 2014, he completed the International Master of Science in Fire Safety engineering for which he studied in Belgium, Sweden and the UK. Karel is a guest professor at Ghent University and carried out scientific research into the use of PPV fans and search & rescue.

Karel is a co-author of four books and 95 articles and papers about fire and firefighting.

Shan Raffel

Shan Raffel has served as a career firefighter in Brisbane Australia between 1983 and July 2021. His career took a serious change in 1994 after two of his colleagues were killed during firefighting operations in what was considered a “routine fire” in a small motorcycle dealership. In 1996, two other colleagues were seriously injured after being caught in an extreme fire event while conducting search and rescue operations in smoke laden section of a Backpackers Hostel.

These events, motivated him to develop an extensive report which led to an international study of international best practice in compartment fire behavior training (CFBT) in 1997. His research allowed him to study at the leading live fire training institutions in Sweden and the UK. The critical information gained, led to the development of the first nationally recognized training CFBT program in Australia in 1998. Subsequently he has assisted numerous fire services in the world in the development of their training facilities, instructors and teaching materials.

In 2009 he was awarded a “Churchill Fellowship” to research “Planning Preparation and Response to Emergencies in Tunnels” which led to intensive study over a period of 10 weeks in the USA (FDNY), Canada, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland. He used this knowledge to develop the construction and operational phase emergency response plans for the 3 largest road tunnels in Australia.

His extensive training experience spans 26 countries, and his International Compartment Fire Behaviour Instructors program gained international credentialing through the Institution of Fire Engineers recognition process in 2018. https://www.ife.org.uk/Training-Development-Directory/142643

Since leaving full time firefighting service, he has focused on Fire Engineering consultancy and the development of firefighting instructors through his international courses.

www.linkedin.com/in/shanraffel

Abstract

1. Conference Talk 35 – 45 min

Subject “Working in the Kill Zone”.

The most dangerous situation for firefighters is when they are working in a structure filled with smoke, and no flame showing. This presentation will discuss the limitations of gas cooling and highlight the need to progress quickly to the point where they can control the fire by placing water on the burning surfaces.

• Reading the Fire.

This takes at least 2 hours, but 4 is better. I run it like a classroom session.

Every fire sends out signals that can assist firefighters in determining the stage of fire development and, most importantly, the changes that are likely to occur. This skill is essential to ensuring that the correct firefighting strategies and tactics are employed. Being able to “read a fire” is the mark of a firefighter who is able to make decisions based on knowledge and skill—not guess work or luck.

Shan Raffel has been using and refining the BE SAHF method of reading the fire for nearly 25 years. This presentation will focus on developing the ability to recognise visual patterns that can assist in sizing up the likely fire progression which forms the foundation for safer and more effective firefighting.

John McDonough

John has been a professional firefighter for 36 years and is an Inspector with the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW). He is currently an operational Duty Commander in
charge of 15 stations north of Sydney. From 2003 to 2017, he was Team Leader of the Fire Operational Training Team.He has travelled extensively in order to study modern firefighting trends and benchmark against these for world’s best practice in developing training programs. He has delivered fire training courses in Germany, Croatia, Belgium, Poland, France, Canada, Hong Kong and the US. In Europe alone he has trained over 500 fire behaviour instructors. He is a founding member of the International Fire Instructors Workshop (IFIW).

He was a lead instructor on the Canadian ‘F.I.R.E – Firefighting, Instruction, Research and Engineering’ project (2013 – 2018). He was also one of four international experts selected as a panel member for the UL ‘Study of the Impact of Fire Attack Utilizing Interior and Exterior Streams on Firefighter Safety and Occupant
Survival’ (Chicago 2014 – 2017).

He is a co-author of ‘3D Firefighting – Training, Tactics and Techniques’, which in published in the USA by FPP/IFSTA. In 2009 he was awarded Australia’s highest honour for Fire Officers, the Australian Fire Service Medal for his work in structural firefighting training.

James Mendoza

James Mendoza is a Captain in the San Jose Fire Department (California, U.S.A.). He holds a M.A. degree in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology from the Stanford School of Medicine. He is an Instructor of Live Fire Instruction and Fire Control 3 (Structural Firefighting) instructor for California State Fire Training and served on the committee that wrote the curriculum for both courses.

He served on the U.L. Technical Panel for the Coordinated Fire Attack Study. A true “nerd” (before the term was popular) he traveled to Sweden, Australia, and the United Kingdom in a search for a better understanding of fire behavior and how to teach it. He is an avid reader of all things fire behavior and a strong believer in the use of small-scale models to help firefighters understand
fire science. He strives to teach in a simple, yet intellectually honest way, with humor and understanding of the human element in firefighting.

Hans Nieling

64 year. Retired Captain of the Sittard Fire Station, Region Zuid Limburg, The Netherlands. 35 years of service as Retained Firefighter.
Currently Senior Instructor at the Fire region Zuid Limburg Former worked as Engineer jet engine fuel systems, Collins Aerospace.

40 years Since Dec 31 2023 Retired and now full time Senior Instructor at CFBT-NL and co-owner of CFBT-NL
Former member of the Technical Panel ‘Interior fire attack’ at UL FSRI.
As a team we managed changing the Dutch Fire Service to be working safer and more efficient.

Art Perlini

For more than three decades, Dr. Arthur Perlini has been a Professor of Psychology at Algoma University in Ontario Canada.

He holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Carleton University (Canada). He has authored numerous scientific papers in the field of personality, social and
cognitive psychology, including the impact of psychological factors on behavioural performance. He works in the field of sport and performance
psychology, helping athletes and professionals manage factors that impede human performance with an eye to optimizing performance. For more than a
decade, he has been a contributor to IFIW on the impact of psychological factors on the performance of firefighters.

Kenneth Liu

Kenneth Liu is a firefighter and Senior Station Officer (Operational) at the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, where he has worked for over 20 years. He has played a significant role in training and educating firefighters, serving as an instructor in various firefighting training courses, including Compartment Fire Behaviour Training (CFBT).

In addition to his firefighting work, Kenneth also has a solid academic and professional background. He obtained a Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in 2002 and a Foundation Degree in Fire Safety Engineering from the University of Central Lancashire in 2011.

Kenneth has received continuous training throughout his career, including an Instructional Techniques course and an Incident Safety Officer course, both related to his work in the fire department. He has also completed a CFBT Instructor course, enabling him to teach advanced firefighting techniques.

Kenneth has held several important positions in the fire department, including his current role as Senior Station Officer in the Firefighting Training Department. His firefighting experience and skills have been recognized by his peers and colleagues, and he has been a valuable contributor to the safety of the Hong Kong community.

You still have time to register for the upcoming INTERNATIONAL FIRE INSTRUCTOR’S WORKSHOP 2023, which we will hold in Seganosa!

La entrada SPEAKERS OF THE REFLECTIONS AND FINAL CONCLUSIONS IFIW 2023 se publicó primero en Seganosa.

How can I register for the 2023 INTERNATIONAL FIREFIGHTER INSTRUCTOR WORKSHOP?

SEGANOSA, as an emergency training center and maintaining its commitment to quality training, supports the celebration of the IFIW (International Fire Instructor’s Workshop) in 2023. On this occasion, this international meeting will be held for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula.

The International Fire Instructor’s Workshop, returns to the format of face-to-face meetings after two years of hiatus due to the Pandemic. An interesting proposal is being prepared for this purpose, which also offers the possibility of attending part of the workshop.

These meetings began in 2008, when Associate professor Stefan Svensson at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, organized the first workshop.

Over time, several editions have been held in different countries such as Sweden, Australia, Canada, USA, Germany, Croatia, Poland, Belgium, Hong Kong, Netherlands.

More recently, in 2021, as a result of the restrictions resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic, IFIW was reinvented and IFIWeb2021 was organized in a fully online format.

IFIW 2023

At these meetings, firefighters, trainers and researchers seek to develop a learning and exchange environment where they can discuss and reflect on topics such as indoor fire behavior, firefighting methodologies, leadership skills and techniques, hygiene, health, prevention, safety, etc.

These topics, which are part of the daily activity of the emergency teams, are analyzed with the aim of advancing with society in the search for improved sustainability, proposing an active impulse for the improvement of the sector, valuing new contributions and facing new challenges.

Each meeting also addresses issues related to firefighter safety, as the cornerstone on which all the systems and procedures used by the firefighting services should be based.

The results obtained in this workshop are reflected worldwide with the adoption of safer, more sustainable and efficient work behaviors and procedures.

All the conclusions will be disseminated by the emergency training centers and their CFBT trainers, committed to the most recent and adjusted pedagogical processes and teaching methods for good learning.

IFIW 2023 will be held at Seganosa

SEGANOSA supports this event, which will be a space for reflection and knowledge sharing.

The strategic vision of our training center is committed to quality education and training that promotes pedagogical approaches focused on each of the students. In turn, encouraging everyone to be able to systematize and apply knowledge, translating it into attitudes and behaviors that respect the efficient, safe and healthy development of societies.

We will soon publish on our website and our social networks the attendees and contents to be developed.

CONCLUSIONS IFIW SPAIN 2023

We can already advance the names of the instructors who will present in the last two days of the event the most important conclusions and reflections of the previous days of work.

IFIW SPAIN 2023 LOGISTICS

Where is Seganosa located?

The next International FIRE Instructor’s Workshop – IFIW 2023 will be held in Seganosa from June 19th to 23rd.

If you would like to attend the in-person conference on Thursday June 22nd and Friday June 23rd, here are the most appropriate logistics to come to the event.

Location of our training center

Cities with airports to reach by plane

• Vigo airport, 28.2 KM (Spain). Nearest airport and city closest to the training center:

• Santiago de Compostela Airport (Spain), 128 KM.

• Porto Airport (Portugal), 145 KM

Where can I stay during IFIW SPAIN 2023?

Seganosa will organize the event in our training center in Salvaterra de Miño, Spain. The city chosen by the organization for the accommodation of the attendees will be VIGO.

Bus transportation from the city to the training center and back daily will be available for the attendees. This does not imply that attendees have to select VIGO as the only accommodation option. Attendees can choose other alternatives closer but with less options and possibilities of accommodation such as:

• TUY (SPAIN), 20KM

• MONÇAO (PORTUGAL), 6KM

• BAYONA (SPAIN) 50KM

• PONTEVEDRA (SPAIN) 56KM

What to do in your free time during the days of the event?

Here are some links of interest for your free time.

• Tourism in Santiago De Compostela https://www.santiagoturismo.com/
• Tourism in Baiona https://www.turismo.gal/localizador-de-recursos/-/sit/que_visitar/baiona?langId=es_ES
• Tourism in Vigo https://www.turismodevigo.org/
• Tourism in Cies Islands https://www.islascies.eu/
• Tourism in Tuy https://tui.gal/es/turismo

How can I register for IFIW SPAIN 2023?

Coming soon to our web and social networks

La entrada INTERNATIONAL FIRE INSTRUCTOR’S WORKSHOP – IFIW SPAIN 2023 se publicó primero en Seganosa.