With Todd holding down the fort,  Sue & I traveled down to Richmond, VA on April 1st (no joke, especially the DC traffic)  to attend Dale Feb's  F.I.R.E.  Technician Certification course.  I met Dale at the ITA Vegas  conference about 6 years ago and took a seminar with him there. I was very impressed with the knowledge level Dale possessed, even more Dale's professionalism and ability to teach difficult subject matters.  So after 6 long years (Dale is based in CA) Steve finally was able to attend one of Dale's  16 hour courses.  
It was all what I have come to expect from Dale and much more.  He is a highly sought after fire investigative professional, offering professional opinions across the country. There is NO ONE better in the country to learn from.  I was the only Home Inspector in the class, all were DC area chimney sweeps and heating professionalls.  I took some good natured jabs being the only inspector there. I forged many frienships there and now have many resource available to me should I have any professional questions needing answers. As advertized the class was rigrous and full of information.  There indeed was a test at the end of the last day, I graded out a 94.  That was not the end of it. We had to sign off on their Code of ethics standards. This is a highly professional group looking to raise the bar in their profession.  I know hold the   F.I.R.E. Certified Technician designation.  I did it only for the knowledge base, not so I could now offer additional services inspecting chimneys in much more detail, that should be for the chimney professionals in the field. 
This part of our continual educational program at CBPHI, we are always raising the bar.   Sincerely, Steve Dukette