Fire and Fraud Investigation Specialists

               James R. Butterworth is a seasoned fire investigator and internationally recognized pioneer in the field of accelerant detection canine training and use.

             Mr. Butterworth served with the Connecticut State Police Department for over twenty-one years before retiring as the Commanding Officer of the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement of the Office of State Fire Marshal.  During his State Police career, while assigned to the Bureau of Emergency Services, Canine Unit, he was selected to be one of the two trainers and handlers of Mattie, a black Labrador retriever considered to be the world’s first Accelerant Detection Canine.  Mr. Butterworth was assigned to the Office of State Fire Marshal, where he became Certified as a Fire Investigator.  He was later promoted and supervised the Fire Investigation Unit before being assigned as the Commanding Officer of the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement. 

             After his retirement from the State Police, Mr. Butterworth took a position as a fire and fraud investigator in the Special Investigation Unit of a large insurance company.  The company later formed a National Fire Investigation Response team of which Mr. Butterworth became a founding member.  While in that position, he trained two accelerant canines and another canine handler for the company. He was the handler for the Eastern half of the country.

             In 1998, Mr. Butterworth formed his own company specializing in the training and handling of Accelerant Detection Canines and was retained as a fire investigation training coordinator for the Connecticut Office of State Fire Marshal.

             He has received numerous awards and commendations for his work in the fire investigation field and was a member of the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Fire Investigation, Canine Task Group.  He is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators and has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Chapter and Chairman of the Training and Education Committee and Chairman of the Awards Committee.  He is also a member of the Connecticut Association of Auto Theft and Arson Investigators, Connecticut Fire Marshals Association and the Canine Accelerant Detection Association.

             Mr. Butterworth has lectured and conducted training in fire investigation throughout the United States for public and private sector agencies, companies and organizations. 

             Jim joined Acacia Investigations in 1999; he is a tenacious fact finder and truth seeker.