Don Perkins

Mr. Perkins’ background consists of education/technical training and over 60-years of combined experience as a full paid Public Suppression Firefighter, Fire Prevention Officer, Fire Investigator, Captain, and President Emeritus / Fire Investigator for Fire Cause Analysis. He began his work as a full paid firefighter in 1965 and worked in a major municipal fire department for 28 years and retired in 1994 at the rank of Captain. As a Fire Suppression Captain, Mr. Perkins worked on shift for over seventeen years. He was assigned to both Engine and Truck Companies at Battalion Headquarters in one of the busiest fire stations in San Jose, California. He was Incident Commander on numerous fires over the course of his career. Mr. Perkins also held the position of Fire Investigator (2 years) and Arson Unit Supervisor / Investigator for 4 years. During this time frame he conducted or supervised over 3,000 fire investigations. Mr. Perkins was also assigned to the San Jose Fire Prevention Bureau for over four years working in code enforcement, plan checking, and fire protection systems inspections. Mr. Perkins met the standards and successfully passed his tests to be qualified as a NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist.

Prior to his retirement from the fire service in 1994, Mr. Perkins founded the firm “Fire Cause Analysis” in 1980. In addition to conducting his own investigations, he presently provides an oversight role to a team of highly qualified fire investigators. As a Private Fire Investigator, Mr. Perkins has conducted or supervised over 4,000 fire investigations and has over 45-years of specific experience and continuing education in fire/arson investigations involving commercial and residential property, vehicle and marine vessels. Mr. Perkins has provided expert witness testimony in both State and Federal Courts on Arson, Fraud, Civil litigation with Depositions and Trials on over 100 cases.

Mr. Perkins is a certified Level I & II Fire Investigator through the California State Fire Marshal’s Office. He is also a Pro-Board Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) by the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) and has met the required IAAI continuing education re-certification requirement since the CFI Certification program began in 1992. In July 2005 he met the certification standards established for a Type 3 Wildland Fire Investigator developed by the National Wildland Coordinating Group. He has been a licensed Private Investigator in California since 1980. He has a “Lifetime Teaching Credential” in the State of California and is current with his teaching certification for the basic and advanced curriculum in Fire/Arson Investigation series, as directed by the California State Fire Marshal’s Office and the California Fire Service Training and Education System. Mr. Perkins has taught students enrolled in the Fire Science Program at local colleges as well as law enforcement personnel at the Criminal Justice Training Center in San Jose, California.

Mr. Perkins has been a guest speaker and lecturer for the International Association of Arson Investigators, the California Association of Arson Investigators, and the International Association of Marine Investigators. Mr. Perkins was a member on the IAAI Certified Fire Investigators (CFI) Committee for three-years and chaired the “IAAI Testing Committee” which writes the national certification test (CFI) for fire investigators. Mr. Perkins is a co-author on the IAAI Development Committee for the NFPA document User’s Manual for NFPA 921. Mr. Perkins was a project team member and contributed to the document Performance of California Homes and Buildings in Urban Wildland Interface, a grant provided to Fire Cause Analysis by the California State Fire Marshal’s office. Mr. Perkins is a contributing author for the California Education Bar and is the co-author on “Chapter 12 – Origin & Cause of Fire,” in the 2008-2012 editions of Scientific Evidence in California Criminal Cases, a two-volume document for the benefit of practicing lawyers.