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Review of Case Materials
Reviews records, documents, testimony, data, and other relevant materials and consults with counsel regarding technical issues related to the matter.
Provide Expert Analysis
Applies specialized knowledge and experience to evaluate the technical or professional issues involved.
Form Expert Opinions
Develops independent, supportable opinions based on the available evidence and relevant standards.
Prepare Expert Reports
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Fire investigation is the systematic examination and analysis of a fire incident to determine where the fire originated and, when the evidence permits, how it started. Investigators may evaluate fire patterns, physical evidence, electrical or mechanical systems, witness information, photographs, records, laboratory results, and fire dynamics to develop and test conclusions about the origin and cause.
Investigators first work to identify the fire’s area or point of origin and then evaluate possible ignition sources, the first fuel ignited, and the circumstances that brought them together. Using the scientific method, they collect and analyze evidence, develop possible explanations, test them against the available data, and consider alternative hypotheses. When the evidence is insufficient to support a specific cause, the cause may remain undetermined.
Heat release rate measures the amount of heat energy a fire releases per unit of time and is commonly used as a measure of fire size. Changes in heat release rate can help describe fire growth, fully developed burning, and decay and may affect temperatures and thermal conditions within a structure. Investigators may consider this information together with fuel characteristics, ventilation, compartment geometry, and other fire conditions.
Changes in ventilation, such as opening doors or windows or breaking glazing, can change the oxygen available to a fire and may substantially alter fire growth, heat release, and resulting fire patterns. Water application can cool burning materials and hot gases and suppress fire development, so investigators should consider the timing and location of ventilation and suppression actions when interpreting damage patterns and reconstructing fire development.
Fire, +4
Government
Prepares clear, well-supported expert reports outlining methodology, analysis, findings, and opinions.
Provide Deposition Testimony
Explains findings and opinions under oath and responds to questioning during deposition testimony.
Testify in Court
Presents specialized findings and opinions clearly to judges, juries, arbitrators, or other decision-makers.