September 27, 1999
Firefighter receives state recognition
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
A Tiffin firefighter has received state recognition for his work in fire investigations.
Capt. Tom Bishop received this year's Investigator of the Year award from the International Association of Arson Investigators. The award is for outstanding achievement in the use of professional expertise in both criminal and civil fields of arson control in the state.
"They say the awards are based on what you have done in your community to help combat the crime of arson," Bishop said. It is a career-based award, he said.
Bishop was promoted to captain June 20. He is also the Clinton Township Fire Chief. He is the Tiffin Fire Department's only fire investigator.
"I investigate all the fires, not just arson fires," he said, "based on training and experience you learn to read the fire patterns and burn patterns to see where the fire started."
This involves sifting through all the debris to see what started a fire, he said.
Bishop has attended two 40-hour courses by the State Fire Marshal's Office, and has attended 60 hours of additional schooling a year.
Adding to his education, Bishop has an associate's degree in heating and air conditioning, and he repaired appliances for about eight years. This helps in investigations in which appliances caused the fire, Bishop said.
Bishop said fire investigators determine the general area of the start of a fire &emdash; for example, inside a television. An insurance company or the State Fire Marshal's lab typically will examine the source more closely, such as in search of a product defect or malfunction.
"I do investigations for Tiffin, and Clinton Township," he said. He also works part-time for Spencer Consulting Services, a private company hired by insurance companies to determine the cause of a fire.
"That gets me all over the state," Bishop said.