Fire Investigation

When a fire or explosion occurs, the window of opportunity to collect evidence about its origin is very small. This is best done as soon as the fire is out, because evidence is commonly destroyed inadvertently during clean-up. The main goals of our investigation are to determine the root cause of the fire and to assess the amount and type of damage so that the equipment or structure can be put back into service safely and efficiently.

Our team is usually unable to collect data during the active fire. However, questioning of observers offers a secondary tool in the collection of such data. Additionally, if the fire burns for an extended period, we may have time to make thermal measurements and get photographic documentation. These are all valuable tools for evaluating the cause and effect of the fire.

MATCO engineers and scientists are well versed in the types of fires that take place in industrial and manufacturing plants. They know that some fires may begin small and are quickly contained. On other occasions flammable materials are involved and the fire takes on a whole new dimension. Sometimes these flammable liquids leak into ditches or trenches and cause specific areas of severe damage while leaving areas close by unaffected. The Matco team has also seen explosions in which fragments of burning materials are thrown long distances, starting secondary fires. Experienced investigators will have a knowledge of these different possible scenarios to help in determining the true root cause.

Our investigators look for two main lines of evidence: the temperature extreme of the fire and the duration of the fire at that high temperature. This information is used to determine the extent of the damage to the structures involved even if damage is not visible. Our team also looks for the nature of the fuel of the fire and the ignition source. This information helps us to determine how the fire began.

If your company has experienced a fire and you need to find out why it happened and what was affected by it, you need look no farther than Matco Associates. Our team can be on-site within hours, ready to investigate your fire incident.