This is an open letter in support for Robert Schaal for 2nd. Vice President of the International Association of Arson Investigators.

I won’t get into his qualifications or his endorsements. If you would like to see these qualifications then you can go to his web site www.RobertSchaal.com. What I want to do is tell you about Robert Schaal the man because he is far too modest to put the real story out there.

I first met Mr. Schaal when we were going through the ATF Certified Fire Investigator program together in 1995. I was stationed in Philadelphia, PA and he was stationed in New Orleans, LA. It was immediately obvious to all that he was a quiet leader. When some were struggling with concepts such as fire modeling Agent Schaal embraced these new technologies and ideas.

Upon my transfer to New Orleans in 1998 I had the opportunity to work side by side with Mr. Schaal and as an investigator he is among the best I have ever worked with. Mr. Schaal managed major fires such as McFrugals Warehouse (1 million sq. feet) and coordinated a National Response Team and dozens of other public and private investigators in this investigation as well as hundreds of others.

I had been a member of the Pennsylvania IAAI which is a very strong/large chapter. Upon attending my first Louisiana Annual Conference I was one of about ten people in attendance from the entire state of Louisiana. I learned that the state chapter had recently been ripped apart by scandal and was on the verge of collapse. Robert Schaal had been recently elected to his first of two terms as President of the Louisiana Chapter. Mr. Schaal oversaw the chapter in its darkest hours and helped build it back to a very strong chapter of which we are all proud of.

There is no candidate in this election at any level that has done more for “Fire Investigative Training” both domestically and abroad. Some candidates tell you what they will do or what they hope to do, but I will tell you what Robert Schaal has done. Robert Schaal has managed the Advanced O&C/Courtroom Techniques Training program, the ATF Arson for Prosecutors, Complex Arson Investigative Techniques, organized a training exchange program with the United Kingdom allowing numerous UK investigators the opportunity to train here in the U.S. Mr. Schaal has facilitated the training for investigators from New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, Ireland Colombia Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Latvia, etc. You see it isn’t about who lends there name and endorses Robert Schaal, it is about what he has done and continues to do for fire investigators around the world.

Leadership? Robert Schaal came back to New Orleans as a Supervisor a couple of years ago. Everything was going well until Hurricane Katrina struck and devastated this region. In the days after the storm, as a field Supervisor he took command and helped bring order to the area. While Schaal was helping to secure a hospital, a helicopter pilot advised that they were evacuating patients and staff from a different hospital (Tulane Medical Center) in downtown New Orleans. The pilot advised Schaal that helicopters in the area had been receiving small arms fire which could put rescue efforts of patients and staff in jeopardy. As the supervisor in charge he could have ordered other agents into the helicopter, but being a true leader Robert Schaal, armed with a rifle, sat “door gunner” in a black hawk helicopter while patients and staff were flown back and forth to safety.

When it comes to endorsements, the list is long, but what does this matter? Robert Schaal can show a list of endorsements from around the world and back, but what does this prove? I respect the fact that Schaal is willing to run on his record and not on what others think of him. What impresses me about Robert Schaal is that the past is to be respected, but left there. Robert Schaal is about moving forward and that is why the Louisiana Chapter is fully endorsing Mr. Schaal for IAAI 2nd VP and hope that you will vote for progress by voting for ROBERT SCHAAL.

Electronic voting is available now and closes on May 1, 2007 at 11:00 pacific coast time. To receive your PIN you will need to log in to the members only section of the web site [www.firearson.com]. If you have never changed your information, your user name is your first initial and last name. Your password is your IAAI membership number. When you request your PIN, it will be e-mailed to whatever address you supply. The entire process takes about 10 minutes. Please vote and let your voice be heard

Dan Hebert