Gregg A. Hine
ATF Senior Special Agent/CFI (Retired), IAAI-CFI
The FirePoint Group, LLC was established by Gregg A. Hine, a retired Senior Special Agent and Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) with the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2014. Gregg has 34 years of law enforcement experience at both the local and federal level and served as a volunteer firefighter. Gregg holds bachelor’s Degrees in Criminal Justice from George Mason University and Fire Science from the University of Maryland University College.
Gregg began his law enforcement career with the Fairfax County Police Department in 1979. In 1987, he accepted a position as a federal criminal investigator with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He later transferred to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) as a Special Agent in 1989. In 1993 he was assigned to the ATF Arson Group in Falls Church, Virginia and began to specialize in fire and arson investigations. These investigations included bombings, fuel/air explosions, structure fires, arson fraud schemes, serial arsons, revenge motivated arson, and arson homicides. In 1997, Gregg completed the comprehensive two-year ATF Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) program. From 1998 to 2000, Gregg coordinated an ATF Arson Task Force in Washington, DC and worked on a daily basis with the DC Fire Department - providing fire origin and cause support as well as investigative support in arson investigations. From 2000 to 2005, Gregg was assigned to the ATF Fire Research Laboratory (FRL) in Beltsville, Maryland as the CFI Program Manager. While at the ATF FRL, Gregg participated in the analysis of dozens of complex arson investigations from across the United States. Many of these cases lead to full-scale forensic fire testing at the FRL to evaluate ignition scenarios, fire progression, burn patterns and statements made by witnesses and others. In 2005, Gregg returned to the field and was assigned to ATF’s Baltimore Field Division where he worked as a Senior Special Agent and CFI until his retirement in January 2014. While in the Baltimore Field Division, Gregg conducted numerous arson investigations across the state of Maryland, many of which involved arson for profit schemes in both commercial and residential properties. As a collateral duty, Gregg was also a member of ATF’s elite National Response Team (NRT) for nearly ten years and participated in the investigation of numerous large-loss fires across the United States which included a response to the Pentagon in 2001. He also served as the Assistant Team Leader for the NRT (Northeast Team) for a period of four years. Gregg has testified as an expert witness in fire origin and cause in both Federal and State courts and has extensive experience investigating a wide range of fires and conducting research and testing in support of fire investigations. Gregg has served two terms as the president of the Maryland Fire and Explosive Investigators Association (MFEIA) which also serves as the Maryland / DC Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI). He remains an active member of that association as the training coordinator. Gregg has also authored documents related to fire investigations and taught at various fire investigation conferences, the ATF National Academy and the National Fire Academy. Gregg is currently certified by the International Association of Arson Investigators as a Certified Fire Investigator (CFI).