Mr. Keith Paffrath joined Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. as both a fire investigator and building & fire code expert in 2012. He is a retired career fire service professional and certified peace officer (Arizona), having served in his last position as a Deputy Fire Marshal.  He is currently the President of Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. and is one of two Principal Experts.

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Mr. Paffrath developed, implemented, and led the fire investigation program for his fire district on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. Multiple Arizona jurisdictions tapped him to assist with investigations ranging from large, complex commercial losses to fires set to cover homicide. For Forensic Fire Consultants’ clients, Mr. Paffrath has investigated fire and explosion scenes throughout the southwest, assisted county attorneys with arson cases, and handled cases in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He has proffered testimony on fire and explosion analysis, forensic fire code application, and fatal fires.

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Mr. Paffrath earned the professional designations of Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-CFI®), Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI), and Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI).  He also holds additional professional certifications from the Arizona State Fire Marshal’s Office (Fire Inspector I), the International Code Council (Fire Inspector II), the National Fire Protection Association (Certified Fire Inspector II), and the former National Code Services Association (Certified Uniform Fire Code Inspector).

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Mr. Paffrath is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), the Arizona Chapter of the IAAI (where he has served as a board member, vice-president, and president), the National Association of Fire Investigators, the International Code Council, and the National Fire Protection Association.  He also represented the International Association of Arson Investigators on the National Fire Protection Association’s Responder Forum. Mr. Paffrath was elected by his peers to the IAAI Board of Directors in 2021 and re-elected in 2024 to serve through 2027.  In 2017, Mr. Paffrath was selected as a member of the newly formed NFPA 1321 Technical Committee for Fire Investigation Units (FIUs). He was subsequently appointed to represent the IAAI as their Principal on the Committee.  The first edition of this new standard was published in 2024.  Mr. Paffrath has presented training to new and seasoned investigators throughout Arizona and nationally to other IAAI Chapters. In affiliation with the IAAI, he is the Chair of the quarterly IAAI publication (Fire & Arson Investigator), is an IAAI Chapter Liaison, and is a test proctor for the IAAI-ECT® credential in evidence collection.

In 1985, Mr. Sesniak began his fire investigation career while a police officer in the Midwest. Following his law enforcement career, he transitioned to the private sector where he conducted fire and explosion investigations for several years before moving to Chandler, Arizona. Mr. Sesniak founded Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. in 2000 and currently serves as one of two principal experts.

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Mr. Sesniak continues to conduct fire and explosion investigations in the private sector for clients nationwide. His vast experience includes field, management, and training assignments. He has been called upon to conduct fire and explosion investigations overseas and to manage large, complex, and hazardous materials fire losses.  He has qualified as an expert witness in the fields of fire investigation, explosion analysis, and product defects in numerous federal, state, and local jurisdictions.  He is also a published fire researcher and has contributed to numerous books and publications throughout his distinguished career. He continues to share his love of this profession by mentoring and training new investigators through instructional classes, particularly focusing on changes in NFPA 921 and other investigative strategies.

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Mr. Sesniak is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), a past member of their Board of Directors, and a Past President of the IAAI Foundation (2019-2022). Since 2007 he has served as the IAAI’s representative to the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Fire Investigations, which is responsible for writing NFPA 921, Guide for Fire & Explosion Investigations.  He is a public information officer for the IAAI and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including At Large with Geraldo Rivera. He earned the professional designations of Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-CFI®), IAAI Certified Instructor (IAAI-CI), and Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator (NAFI CFEI). He holds membership at the Graduate level in the Institution of Fire Engineers (GIFireE). He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2015 with a B.S. in Fire, Arson, and Explosion Investigation (summa cum laude) and a minor in Fire & Safety Engineering.

Mr. Bruce Wolke joined Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. in 2023 as a Senior Fire Investigator. Mr. Wolke has over thirty-three years of combined law enforcement, fire suppression, and fire investigation experience.

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Mr. Wolke has been a member of both the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) and the IAAI Arizona Chapter (AZIAAI) since 2004. He has been a Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-CFI®) since 2010. His investigative experience encompasses multiple disciplines ranging from crimes such as fraud, burglary, and arson, to complex capital crimes such as kidnapping and homicide. He has over thirty years of experience in crime scene processing, evidence collection, and forensic photography.

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Mr. Wolke has investigated and assisted in over 2000 origin and cause investigations and has testified in both civil and criminal cases. Additionally, Mr. Wolke has been retained by various clients on complex fire investigations involving large losses, high value properties, and fire deaths.

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When not working, Mr. Wolke enjoys spending time with family, traveling with his wife of 24 years in their RV, and freelancing as a sports photographer for local high schools and clients in Arizona.

Dr. Benjamin Knox joined Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. in 2024 as both a Certified Fire Investigator and a registered Professional Engineer with an emphasis in mechanical engineering. Prior to joining Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd., Dr. Knox worked as an engineering expert in fire origin and cause since 2016. He previously served as a graduate research assistant in the Combustion Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology and at The State University of New York at Buffalo, where his research focused on developing experimental and numerical methods for studying combusting fuel sprays in land- and air-based engines. Dr. Knox also held positions at the Air Force Research Laboratory (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) and Caterpillar Inc.

​Dr. Knox's project experience includes technical analysis of home appliances, oilfield operations, propane and natural gas systems, conventional and electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage systems, heating and cooling systems, oxygen storage systems, lithium-ion batteries, electrical distribution equipment, cannabis-related facilities, and intellectual property matters.

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His research and testing experience has focused on ignition mechanisms such as hot surface ignition, self-heating, forced ignition, electrostatic discharge, and sparks/arcs. He has conducted full-scale burn tests to evaluate burn patterns and fire spread. Dr. Knox is active in fire-related industry organizations, including the National Fire Protection Association where he is currently the Principal Representative for the NFPA 1192 and 1194 Technical Committee on Recreational Vehicles and Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campgrounds since 2018 and the NFPA 420 Technical Committee on Fire Protection of Cannabis Growing and Processing Facilities since 2022. Dr. Knox is a published author with scientific articles in the areas of eyewitness reliability, flame dynamics, spray dynamics, autoignition, pollutant formation/oxidation, and detonations.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Jim Welch is an IAAI Certified Evidence Collection Technician (IAAI-ECT®) with Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. Jim’s 35-year career with the fire department provides valuable background and knowledge on the crucial evidence left behind after a fire or explosion event. During his distinguished fire service career as a Captain, he oversaw crew management, deployment of resources, served on the HAZMAT team, and gathered experience firsthand on the fireground. He provided critical-thinking skills to assess and mitigate dangerous situations, then took an interest in the cause of the event.

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In addition to his exemplary fire career, Jim also worked in the packaging, crating, and logistics industry, specializing in industrial rigging. Jim owned his business and prided his company on meeting the custom packaging and crating needs of the client.  He has packaged and crated everything from the size of a shoebox to multi-million-dollar pieces of equipment. Artifacts of that size involve specialized cranes and rigging to remove them, package, and crate them, then ship them around the world.

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Jim obtained his IAAI-ECT and offers his experience and knowledge in providing FFC’s clients with the very best artifact preservation techniques. His 30 years of skills provide FFC with an unparalleled level of service to protect the litigation interests of any case he is assigned to. Jim also provides FFC with evidence management and disposal when required. Jim is another outstanding example of why Forensic Fire Consultants Ltd. should be your first call when the need arises.