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                               James (Jamie) Novak (In Memoriam)

                                    President/Owner/Senior Fire Consultant

                                       jnovak@novakinvestigations.com

                                       Cell: (612) 750-9119

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Jamie began his fire service in 1979 as a volunteer firefighter with the City of Golden Valley in Minnesota and soon became a part-time fire inspector/fire investigator for the department.  In 1984,  Jamie was hired as a Deputy State Fire Marshal with the Minnesota State Fire Marshal's Office.  In 1992, along with his investigative duties,  Jamie took on the added responsibility as training coordinator for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) where he was responsible for teaching the basic, intermediate, and on-scene fire investigation series.  In 1996, Jamie was hired by the St. Paul Fire Department where he held the position of fire investigator until June 2017. 

 

Jamie was a Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) through the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), a Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI) and a Certified Fire/Explosion Investigator (CFEI) through the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), a licensed private investigator, and owner/operator of Novak Investigations, Inc. until his unexpected and untimely death in July 2018.   During his 39+ years in the fire service, Jamie conducted thousands of origin and cause investigations involving both fires and/or explosions.  He conducted numerous live burns and explosions in his everlasting quest to discover and uncover the science involved in defining the origin and cause of fires and/or explosions.   Jamie traveled extensively throughout the world conducting training exercises and sharing his knowledge in the classroom and in the field in the areas of fire/explosion investigations and techniques. 

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Jamie testified in court at both the State and Federal level on numerous occasions and provided investigative, training, and consultation services to a number of attorneys, insurance companies and manufacturers. 

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Jamie held the position of President for the Minnesota Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (MN IAAI) and remains active in the Association.  He  also served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Arson Investigators. 

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Jamie's work has been cited in such publications as Crime Reconstruction by William Jerry Chisum and Brent E. Turvey, Scientific Protocols for Fire Investigation by John J. Lentini, and Kirk's Fire Investigation by John D. DeHaan, David J. Icove, and Gerald A. Haynes. 

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                                   Dominic Novak

                                      Fire Consultant

                                      dnovak@novakinvestigations.com

                                      Cell:   (612) 419-8060

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Dominic Novak is a Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) through the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), and a Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI) and Certified Fire/Explosion Investigator (CFEI) through the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI).    Dominic is currently a full-time firefighter/EMT with the St. Paul Fire Department and since June 2010, a part-time origin and cause investigator with Novak Investigations, Inc.  Dominic has a special interest in vehicle fires, having obtained certification as an automotive services technician, and is currently pursuing his bachelor's degree in fire investigation.    

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Dominic's dual employment with the City of St. Paul and Novak Investigations, Inc. has provided a great deal of first-hand experience in learning how fire behaves in a hostile environment.  He has assisted with numerous hands-on educational burns, classroom instruction, and small fire experiments including, but not limited to, those involving spontaneous combustion, cigarette fires, and flammable liquid fires.  This first-hand observation has provided a firm foundation for fire investigations. 

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Dominic has conducted and/or assisted with hundreds of fire investigations during his employ with Novak Investigations, Inc.  He has attended numerous training seminars sponsored by such prestigious organizations as the National Fire Academy, the National Association of Fire Investigators, the International Association of Arson Investigators, and countless others.   

 

Curriculum vitae available upon request.