Robert Laubacher Receives Fire Investigator Of Year Award At State Fire School

At the 34th Annual State Fire School held in Mesa, Fire Investigator Robert Laubacher received the 2007 Fire Investigator of the Year Award from the Arizona Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI).

The award is annually given to a fire investigator who displays excellence and integrity in the investigation of fires. The Arizona Chapter of the IAAI comprises approximately 500 fire investigators from city and county fire departments and fire districts, private fire-investigations firms, and prosecutors who are assigned to prosecute those accused of arson.

Laubacher started his career in 1973 with the New York Fire Department, rising to the position of Fire Marshal in the Special Investigations Unit of the Bureau of Fire Investigations. In that unit, he investigated over 800 fire scenes.

After his retirement in 2000, he moved to Arizona and became a private fire investigator, investigating fire scenes for insurance companies. He now owns his own private fire investigations firm called W.L. Roberts Fire Investigations.

Laubacher received the award for his involvement in two fire investigations this year in which he worked closely with fire investigators from the public side to determine the causes of two large-dollar and devastating fires in Maricopa County.

Laubacher was able to share his expertise with the other investigators, which led to ultimate agreement on the cause of the two fires.

On receiving his award, Laubacher expressed his lifelong love of working in the fire service and of the tremendous bond that exists among those in the fire service.

For further details, contact Theodore Campagnolo, president of the Arizona Chapter of the IAAI at 602-339-0440.