Scorch school helps members spot arson

A series of shipping containers have been set alight on the grounds of the Victoria Police Academy – all in the name of education.

In a first for Australian law enforcement, the containers were torched last year to create an immersive and ongoing learning experience for budding detectives.

The experience gives members studying to become a detective the chance to examine several fire scenes during the arson investigation component of the course, without the need to go off-site.

While the training exercise is new for members, it’s been a long time coming for one of Victoria Police’s most experienced instructors, Jeffrey Maher, who came up with the concept of converting storage containers into spaces that resemble fire scenes back in 2017.

Today, those containers are called ‘burn rooms’.

Years in the making

Mr Maher delivers all arson-related courses offered by the Academy and has a wealth of knowledge in fire investigation.

Not only because he’s the president of the Victorian Association of Fire Investigators, but because he used to be a detective senior sergeant himself.

Over the course of his 42-year policing career, Mr Maher investigated approximately 180 homicides, and helped to convict one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers, Peter Dupas.

But it was his experience during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 that fuelled his passion for arson investigation and the ‘burn room’ concept.

“I was a crew leader in the Homicide Squad when Black Saturday occurred, and during that time, I was deployed to Marysville where 38 people perished,” Mr Maher said.

“Afterwards, I investigated the fires as part of Phoenix Taskforce for two years, and then I was honoured to be asked to take the detective senior sergeant position at the Arson and Explosives Squad.”

From officer to instructor

Now, Mr Maher is one of the Academy’s senior instructors, meaning he is still immersed in fire investigation, but for teaching purposes.

“In my current role at the Academy, I teach members how to investigate arson, and how to investigate it effectively, which is what led me to think about how we could improve the arson lessons and come up with the burn rooms,” Mr Maher said.

“Essentially, the containers provide a convenient location for fire investigation within the grounds of the Academy, but can be used to train members over and over, unlike attending fire scenes elsewhere.”

Years ago, members completing their Advanced Diploma of Police Investigation would spend two days studying arson investigation, including one day attending fire scenes with Fire Rescue Victoria.

But due to an increase in course content, as well as the logistics of locating fire scenes and sending members off-site, the arson component was eventually condensed into one day in the classroom.

So when Mr Maher’s colleague and fellow instructor Detective Sergeant Jamie Cunningham heard about the idea to create an immersive learning experience for members on Academy grounds, he was keen to help make it happen.

“To get another fire investigation exercise over the line, with all of the content that needs to be squeezed into the course, I knew whatever we did would need to be on-site,” Det Sgt Cunningham said.

“And so when Jeff told me about his idea, I thought, ‘let’s get this going’.

“The arson field day was one of my favourite days of detective training school, because it was where we got to put all the theory into practice, so I was keen to help create the same experience for incoming students.”

Constructing the burn rooms

Once Mr Maher and Det Sgt Cunningham figured out how they would bring the concept to life, the pair organised for the containers to be plastered, painted and furnished, so they resembled rooms straight out of a suburban home.

With the assistance of specialists from Fire Rescue Victoria and Glen Waverley Fire Station’s pumper tanker, the containers were then torched and extinguished in one morning – just in time for the Academy’s first Bushfire Arson Investigation Course of 2025.

The five-day course is a component of the training members must complete to become an Arson and Explosive Liaison Officer (AELO).

The AELO role can be taken on by members in addition to their regular duties, and involves working with specialist detectives to investigate arson, explosive events and bushfires.

“The Bushfire Arson Investigation Course focuses on the theoretical and practical components of arson investigation, which is extremely valuable background to have when dealing with suspicious wildfires”, Mr Maher said.

“So it made sense to add the burn rooms to the curriculum for both this course, and the Advanced Diploma of Police Investigation.”

Putting them to the test

During both courses, Mr Maher and Det Sgt Cunningham now take participants over to the burnt-out containers and ask them to have a ‘good look’.

“Once we get out there, we say, ‘based on what we’ve taught you about fire indicators, spend some time looking at the rooms and have a think about what the cause and origin of the fires might be’,” Det Sgt Cunningham said.

Then, the group head back to the classroom to discuss their theories, before the true cause and origin of each blaze is revealed with footage of the containers being set alight.

Thanks to this footage, captured by the Academy’s Digital Education Unit, members can see exactly what happened – something that until now, had not been possible.

“The burn rooms provide a practical application for the theory members are taught in the classroom,” Mr Maher said.

“And the different scenarios give them the opportunity to identify some really good fire indicators, which is exactly what we set out to achieve.”

An invaluable learning experience

With the burn rooms now part of the Centre for Crime Investigation’s curriculum, hundreds of budding detectives and AELOs have experienced the exercise.

And so far, it has received nothing but glowing reviews.

“Members who have completed their detective or AELO training since we added the burn rooms have given us great feedback,” Det Sgt Cunningham said.

“Not just in relation to how real and interactive the exercise is, but more importantly, about the value of the learning experience,” Det Sgt Cunningham said.

Det Sgt Cunningham also added that the rooms couldn’t have been designed by anyone more passionate.

“Jeff’s entrenched in everything related to fire investigations and has a wealth of knowledge, so it’s great to see him passing that on to members,” he said.

“They really couldn’t learn from someone more distinguished.”