Matt Griffin, a certified Bucks County Community College instructor in fire safety, also a Salisbury Township fire inspector and a Bethlehem City professional firefighter, led an arson class at Eastern Salisbury Fire Department’s Emmaus Avenue station for more than two dozen firefighters from both the ESFD and the Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company March 21.

The class provided comprehensive information on the nature of arson fires and arsonists, their characteristics and detection and the special responsibility first responders bear to preserve a fire scene for investigation by authorities.

The first responders earned education credits for attending the 4-hour class.

Before the class, Salisbury Fire Marshal Donald Sabo, a sergeant with the Salisbury Township Police Department, provided a slide program to wrap up for Salisbury firefighters the circumstances revealed by investigators following the fatal house fire along Byfield Street in the township Feb. 1.

Sabo included a 3D photo walk-through of the entire residence to show the extent of the damage and to show the special hazards facing firefighters trained and qualified for interior firefighting. The photos showed the cause of the fire as stovetop cooking. The fire was ruled accidental in nature.