New Hudson Valley Task Force Announced in Orange County

An exciting recent announcement out of Orange County has marked the beginning of a new venture for law enforcement in the Hudson Valley. That announcement is of the beginning of new task force that will be operating throughout the region.

New Hudson Valley Task Force

The announcement of this new task force was originally made last week on December 3, 2024 in Orange County by Orange County's District Attorney David M. Hoovler. The announcement also came in conjunction with the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The new task has been named the "Hudson Valley Arson and Explosives Task Force". According to the press release issued by the Orange County District Attorney's Office this new task force...

...was created to facilitate the criminal prosecution of fire, arson, and explosives cases and to assist our law enforcement and agency partners in their efforts to protect the safety of over 400,000 residents amid increases fire activity in Orange County, as well as those in adjacent counties.

The new task force will also be inviting the participation of police and fire agencies operating in Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam, Sullivan, Rockland and Westchester Counties as well as the New York State Police.

New Task Force Training Begins

The announcement of the new task force was followed by the announcement that the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) is sponsoring a series of trainings for area emergency service providers with Fire Investigation duties.

According to the press release...

The training curriculum will serve to help build skillsets over time and help our fire investigation personnel meet the new legal standard for criminal prosecutions.

The training is being offered free of charge via the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the ATF for law enforcement and emergency service providers with fire investigation duties and all agency partners involved in fire investigation.

The curriculum will be covering a wide area of subjects with the goal of serving the region and will address a shortage in training opportunities. The training will also will bring current and prospective fire Investigators and fire investigation units closer to compliance with national standards for fire investigator qualifications and fire investigation unit requirements.

Training will take place one (1) evening per month in Goshen, NY. All classes will be taught by Bureau, of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, Arson, and Explosives industry experts from across the Northeast United States. Training topics will include...

• Overview of applicable national guides and standards: 1.) NFPA 1033 Fire Investigator Qualifications, 2.) NFPA 1321 Standard for Fire Investigation Units, and 3.) NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations
• Evidence Recognition, Crime Scene Preservation & Fire Scene Photography
• Electrical Fire Cause Determination & Elimination
• Fourth Amendment Constitutional Concerns, Evidence collection, Evidence Submission, Evidence Production and Chain of Custody
• NFPA 921 National Standard Compliant Report Writing and Scene Diagraming
• Expert Witness testimony & CV writing, Formatting, and Updates

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The first scheduled training took place yesterday December 11, 2024 and more trainings are scheduled through June 2025. Any police or fire agencies who have questions about the training opportunity are invited to contact Task Force Officer-in- Charge Vincent Spampinato by calling (845) 923-3677, or sending him an email at vspampinato@orangecountygov.com.