R. J. Shirer & Associates Inc.

Fire & Explosion Investigation

We investigate fires and explosions associated with homes/buildings, automobiles, marine craft, industrial & commercial applications, and equipment & machinery to determine:

• Cause & Origin
• Fire Development & Behaviour
• Fire Spread & Causation
• Detection & Suppression Activation
• Fire Code Compliance

We employ industry standard investigative techniques from the NFPA921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations and the ASTM to examine fire scenes, document evidence, and analyse fire scene debris for subtances such as flammable liquids.

As forensic engineers, we go beyond fire dynamics and pattern analysis to analyze the logical prerequisites and consequences of a particular, postulated cause of the fire or explosion. Where a potential cause implicitly assumes the possible improper operation (a failure) of some item, process, or procedure, we perform a failure analysis to confirm or exclude the possible cause.