Fire & Explosion Investigations (Chemical / Electrical / Structural) – Determining the Root Cause, Utilizing Codes as National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) Codes and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Experience
- Fire / Explosion / Arson Forensic Investigations and Documentation
- Cause, Origin, and Fire Propagation Analysis
- Testing of Ignition Temperatures and Combustible Gases Generated by Fire
- Thermal Transient Structural Integrity Evaluations
Applications
- Process / Chemical Plants
- Power Plants
- Industrial & Manufacturing
- Residential Structures
- Commercial Structures
- Vehicle, Rail, Marine +
Our fire investigations provide factual testimony – not just expert opinions. They include in-depth causation analysis, supporting conclusions with quantified results and illustrations – delivering our clients a reliable and defensible report.
Expert Witness & Forensic Engineering
What We Do
- Commercial Building Fires
- Boilers
- Generators
- Switchgear
- Electrical Equipment
- Coke Ovens
- Appliances
- Dryers
- Pumps/ Pipelines
- Compressors
- Industrial Equipment
- Manufacturing Equipment
Recent Projects
Examples
- Thermal oil fire at a cogeneration plant
- Alleged arson at a seafood processing plant
- Aircraft defensive flare box explosion at manufacturing facility
- Electric induction furnace explosion at a foundry
- Ammonium perchlorate explosion at a solid rocket fuel plant
- Propanol tank explosion at resin plant
Finite Element Analysis is often used to Simulate a Structure and its Conditions to Determine the Root Cause of a Fire / Explosion. When a fire or explosion occurs, the physical evidence left behind rarely tells the complete story on its own. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) allows our engineers to reconstruct what happened computationally — simulating the thermal, structural, and mechanical conditions present during the event. By building a detailed digital model of the equipment, structure, or component in question, we can apply realistic temperature histories, pressure loads, and material properties to determine how and why a failure occurred. This moves the investigation beyond observation and inference, producing quantified, defensible results that can withstand scrutiny in deposition, mediation, or court.
In fire and explosion cases, FEA is particularly valuable for evaluating structural collapse sequences, identifying whether a component failed before or after a fire began, and distinguishing between pre-existing defects and fire-induced damage. For explosion events, the analysis can determine whether a vessel, pipe, or enclosure failed at a pressure consistent with its design rating — or whether a defect, corrosion, or code violation caused premature failure. Combined with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for modeling hot gas flow and combustion behavior, these tools allow O’Donnell Consulting Engineers to reconstruct complex fire and explosion scenarios with a level of technical rigor that opinion-based investigations simply cannot provide.
Read about our Engineering and Forensic Cases on our Portfolio Page.
Can’t Find What You’re Looking For? – See our Search Tool at the Top of the Page.
Examples Include:
- Consumer
- Commercial
- Petrochemical
- Manufacturing
- Energy
Learn from the experience of others. Especially when one such “other” is Dr. William O’Donnell, PhD, PE, Founder and President of O’Donnell Consulting Engineers, Inc., and ASME “Engineer of the Year” – his 50 years of experience in analysis of components including fatigue and fracture safety evaluations and failure analyses are now comprised in this volume.
If you are interested learning more in Engineering Design, Manufacturing and Construction, as well as Failure Analysis, then this book is a must have!
$49.95*
* Does not include shipping, handling or tax
