About GFIA
The Georgia Fire Investigator Association is proud to be the 8th Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators.
The objectives and purpose of the Georgia Fire Investigators Association are:
To unite for the mutual benefit those public officials and private persons engaged in the control of arson and kindred crimes.
To provide for the exchange of technical information and developments.
To cooperate with other law enforcement agencies and associates to further fire prevention and the suppression of crime.
To encourage professional standards of conduct among arson investigators and to continually strive to eliminate all factors which interfere with administration of crime suppression.
The Georgia Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators was chartered April 21, 1964. The Chapter has become the largest fire investigation training group in the state of Georgia. The Georgia Chapter of the IAAI is comprised of members from the fire service, law enforcement, insurance industry, private investigators, and engineers who conduct investigations into the origin and cause of fires.
Our membership is not limited to fire investigation professionals in Georgia. We have members throughout the Southeast and across the United States.
Each year the Chapter hosts two training conferences for our members. These conferences draws an average attendance of 300+ attendees and is approved for continuing education training/in-service from both the Georgia Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) Commission and the Georgia Fire Fighters Standards and Training Division. The conference also sees many fire investigation colleagues from Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky. To assist with continuing education requirements from these and other states, classes on ethics and other relevant topics are provided as often as possible.
The Georgia Chapter of the IAAI is governed by a Board of Directors and Officers who are elected by the general membership every year during the SEATC in Savannah, Georgia. The Board of Directors and Officers conduct business on behalf of the Chapter in accordance with the organization’s Constitution and Bylaws.
OFFICERS 2022-2023
Bryan Cash – President
Hall County Fire Department Office: 770-531-6838 Email: bcash@hallcounty.org
Tommy Sipsy – Senior Vice President
Southern Company Gas Office: 404-606-6900 Email: tsipsy@southernco.com
Brian Smith 2nd Vice President
Georgia State Fire Marshal’s Office Cell:404-783-7042 Email: BSmith@oci.ga.gov
Dana F. Mason – Treasurer
Jack Ward Fire Consultants. Cell: 678-471-6494 Email: danamason@jackwardfire.com
Cheri Collett – Secretary
Cherokee County Fire Department Cell: 678-614-9007 Email: ccollett@cherokeega.com
- GFIA Past Presidents
| 1964-1966 | Arthur Hutchins | Georgia Bureau of Investigations |
| 1967-1969 | Milton Rose | Georgia Forestry Service |
| 1970-1971 | Clyde Bowden | State Fire Marshal’s Office |
| 1972-1974 | Bobby Cato | State Fire Marshal’s Office |
| 1975-1976 | Eddie Smith | INS Investigations |
| 1977 | Bruce Oitts | |
| 1978-1980 | David Page | Atlanta Gas Light |
| 1981-1982 | R.L. “Buck” Kennedy | Kennedy and Kennedy |
| 1983-1984 | Johnny Locke | Columbus Arson Squad |
| 1985-1986 | Walter J. Campbell | State Farm Insurance |
| 1987 | Kevin Cunningham | Cunningham Investigation Service |
| 1988 | Ralph Newell | Newell Investigation Service |
| 1989 | Ron Kibble | Georgia Farm Bureau |
| 1990 | I.J. Krants | Krants and Company Investigations |
| 1991 | Miles Watters | State Farm Insurance |
| 1992 | Mike Weaver | Georgia Farm Bureau |
| 1993 | Tony Nix | State Farm Insurance |
| 1994 | Ralph Newell | Newell Investigation Service |
| 1995 | Steve Sprouse | State Fire Marshal’s Office |
| 1996 | A.W. “Wes” Durham | Cobb County Fire Department |
| 1997 | Thom Burruss | AGL Resources |
| 1998 | Sandra VanLandingham | State Farm Insurance |
| 1999 | Barry Slotter | Slotter and Associates |
| 2000 | Gary Kendrick | Spalding County Fire Department |
| 2001 | Paul McGahee | Georgia Farm Bureau |
| 2002 | David Herndon | Cobb County Fire Department |
| 2003 | Teresa McAfee | State Farm Insurance |
| 2004 | Laurel Mason | Analytical Forensic Associates |
| 2005 | Thom Burruss | AGL Resources |
| 2006 | William “Bill” Barrett | Gwinnett County Fire Department |
| 2007 | Alan”Wade” Crider | Gwinnett County Fire Department |
| 2008 | Zane Newman | Americus Fire Department |
| 2009 | Charlie Mangan | AGL Resources |
| 2010 | Doug Byron | Forensic and Scientific Testing |
| 2011 | Ken LeCroy | Cobb County Fire Department |
| 2012 | R. Keith Bell | R.K. Bell Consulting |
| 2013 | Kevin Wallace | Forsyth County Fire Department |
| 2014 | Ron Reagan | Henry County Fire Department |
| 2015 | Bill Knight | Crisp County Fire Department |
| 2016 | John Dancsecs | City of Milton Fire Department |
| 2017 | Perry Hopkins | Hopkins Forensics Group, LLC |
| 2018 | Joe Kelley | Henry County Fire Department |
| 2019 | Kenny Wright | Wright Fire Investigations |
| 2020 | Walter Shaw | ATF |
| 2021 2022 | Corey Cunningham Troy Reynolds | Cunningham Investigation Service Travelers Insurance |
- GFIA Life Members
| Sam Lowe |
| Luke Lassiter |
| Clyde Bowden |
| Clayton Farnham |
| R.L. “Buck” Kennedy |
| David Page |
| Walter Campbell |
| Ralph Newell |
| Kevin Cunningham |
| K.G. Davis |
| I.J. Krants |
| Jim Swindell |
| Ed Canipelli |
| Ron Kibble |
| Susan Cunningham Robert “Bob” Holland |
| Thom Burruss |
| Jane Cox |
| Teresa McAfee |
| Laurel Mason |
| Charlie Mangan IAAI Life Member |
| Bill Knight |
| Kenny Wright |
- Past IAAI Board Members
| 1997-1981 | Bruce Potts |
| 1986-1988 | R.L. “Buck” Kennedy |
| 1988-1993 | Kevin Cunningham |
| 1993-1999 | I.J. Krants* |
| 2003-2006 | Teresa McAfee |
| 2010-2014 | Charlie Mangan |
| 2013-2017 | Randy Watson** |
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| * Elected 2nd Vice President – 1999, 1st Vice President – 2000, President – 2001 ** Elected 2nd Vice President – 2020, 1st Vice President – 2022, President – 2022 |
- Chapter CFIs
David Adams Jessica Aliberti Brian Beaty Robert Bell
William Benzur Chris Block Shun Borders Charlie Bryson
Ira Burnette Michael Carlyle Bryan Cash Lance Christenson
Brian Clavier. Gregory Cloer Cheri Collett Joseph Cox
Wesley Cox. Corey Cunningham Kevin Cunningham Jeffrey Cutrer
Shane Daniel James Darst Donna Dingler. William Dodd
Donald Dowling A. Durham
Tony Echols Allen English. Jeffrey Felmet Steve Forren
Jonathan Fuqua Joseph Geitgey Elizabeth Goddard Mitch Griffin
Daniel Gwinn Nathan Hawkins Fintan Hobbs Richard Holmes
Mark Hook Mickey Hunt. Daniel Irions Jeff Johnson
Joe Kelley Hart Kerlin Jeremiah Kittle Robert Klitsch
William Knight Stephen Knowles William Lambert Robby Landis
Kenneth LeCroy Jimmy Maddox Dana Mason Robert McCormick
Paul McGahee Stephen Morris John Nemeth John Norred
James Powell Ron Reagan Troy Reynolds Rodney Sanders
David Scarbrough Tommy Sipsy William Skinner Brian Smith
Tim Smith David Stapleton Brad Stapp Roynell Stone
Jeffrey Tanski Ryan Thurmond Luis Velazco Jerry Wainright
Stanley Ward Randy Watson Roderick Wilson Kenneth Wright
Vincent Zellars Cory Colligan Robert Collins Jason Stribling
As of July 2022
Georgia Fire Investigators Association 