About the Site
The Author
Hi, I'm Glen. I've been a Cariboo resident for the last eight years, though I've been travelling to the area for work and play for decades. I moved here to continue my work as a police investigator after eight years working in small communities in BC's Peace Country. I'm originally from a small coastal community on Vancouver Island.
Typically, I support small police detachments with serious crimes investigations, but I also have several specializations. I am an experienced digital evidence investigator, a former member of the provincial cyber-crimes committee, and an experienced child exploitation investigator. However, I'm probably best known as one of the senior police fire investigators in BC. I have extensive experience working with small communities and local fire services, and significant experience with military, police, and other government incident command systems. My knowledge of social and fire behavior has resulted in numerous deployments for disaster response in Northern BC.
A few years ago, I recognized that there was a need for more emergency management professionals in Northern BC, particularly in police agancies. So, I decided to pursue a Master of Arts degree in disaster and emergency management at Royal Roads University.
Background
I spent a year studying civil engineering before joining the infantry reserve.
After a three years in the reserve, I returned home and joined my local volunteer fire department.
After five years with the fire department & four at school, I finished a criminology degree
After two years working security, construction and heavy equipment jobs, I put on a red-serge.
Current Project: RRU Masters
I put most of my other projects on hold while completing a Master of Arts Degree through Royal Roads University's Disaster and Emergency Management Program.
After responding to dozens of fire and flood disasters, I became convinced that more education and training in disaster and emergency management would benefit both me and policing in Northern BC. Luckily, my supervisors and management agreed and were supportive.
Currently, I am working on my thesis research project that combines my interests in fire science, social science, emergency management, and community resilience.
Online Study
Five courses had to be completed through distance study. This was a new, but positive experience. In person classes are better, but distance learning allows students to access resources and connect with each other over vast distances.
On Campus
Five courses required in-person attendance at RRU's Victoria Campus. Being recalled from holidays due to re-scheduled criminal trials or disasters in 2016, 2017 and 2018 ensured I had sufficient vacation time.
Thesis
After completing all required courses and submitting two project proposals and a research ethics board review, the project has made it to the actual research stage.
Author Affiliations
I am a member in good standing, and bound by the codes of conduct of several professional organizations.
This is a fantastic international research association.
This professional association provides training, publications, certification and other resources to fire investigators. They run CFI-Trainer, a fantastic resource for new fire investigators.
This professional association provides training, certification and other resources to fire investigators.
This professional association provides training, certification and other resources to technology crimes investigators.
I'm still evaluating this one, but they appear promising. They provide access to some really good information services.
This union is mandatory for members.
The Website
CaribooFire.Science was created to provide information. It hopes to assist people, responders, investigators, and agencies with connecting to resources that can help them manage fire impacts.
The site is currently being used to document local fire knowledge in the Cariboo Region. It is doing this by assisting the author to gather Cariboo resident perspectives on household wildfire mitigation for his thesis research project. Some of the site's content has been disabled during the initial stages of this research project.
The website's logo was designed with the assistance of multi-disciplinary designer, risk-communication specialist and RRU Disaster and Emergency Management graduate student Sie Gal. It was designed to represent the re-emergence of local fire knowledge in Canada.
The website is funded by the author. It does not collect user information or generate revenue.