burgoynes dr j h burgoyne & partners llp consulting scientists and engineers
TRANSCRIPT
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BURGOYNESDr J H Burgoyne & Partners LLP
Consulting Scientists and Engineers
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BURGOYNESDr J H Burgoyne & Partners LLP
Consulting Scientists and Engineers
Keith Benjamin
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Incidents
• Fires & explosions
• Chemical engineering (eg plant failures)
• Electrical problems (eg over-voltages)
• Component failures (eg collapses, leaks)
• Materials Science (eg corrosion)
• Road, Rail & Air accidents
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Customers
• Loss Adjusters
• Insurers
• Solicitors
• Commercial companies
• Public bodies
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Locations in the British Isles
Glasgow
LondonBasingstoke
Coventry
IlkleyManchester
StevenageCardiff
Dublin
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People
• 45 investigators in the UK
• Chemists & chemical engineers
• Physicists
• Mechanical & electrical engineers
• Materials scientists
• Gas engineers
• Biologists
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Cases
• 3000+ cases per year
• 2500 fires
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Typical Issues
• Seat of fire
• Cause of fire
• Spread of fire
• Policy conditions
• Good practice & standards
• Involvement of “third parties”
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Evidence Types
• Physical evidence
• Documentary evidence
• Alarms & CCTV
• Witness evidence
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Physical evidence
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Documentary evidence
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CCTV evidence
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and some things that people say
Witness evidence
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“I had only just left when the fire started so it’s lucky I wasn’t hurt”
“There were huge flames all round the room but hardly any smoke…” [the
“East Enders” fire]
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Smoking
• “I couldn’t have been smoking because…”
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• “…I’d left my cigarettes at home”
• “…I’d run out”
• “…I’d just given up…”
• “…but the shock has made me start again”
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• Voices heard after occupant was said to have left
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• Voices heard after occupant was said to have left
• Sudden but short-lived issuing of black smoke
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• Voices heard after occupant was said to have left
• Sudden but short-lived issuing of black smoke
• Second smoke emission after 30 minutes
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• Voices heard after occupant was said to have left
• Sudden but short-lived issuing of black smoke
• Second smoke emission after 30 minutes
• Vehicle heard leaving
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• Occupant had lived there 3 days
• Occupant had a house and family elsewhere
• Very recent policy
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• Fire in parts department 18 months earlier
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• Fire in parts department 18 months earlier
• On each occasion parts manager had just returned from sick leave
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• Fire in parts department 18 months earlier
• On each occasion parts manager had just returned from sick leave
• New management scrutinising performance
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• Fire in parts department 18 months earlier
• On each occasion parts manager had just returned from sick leave
• New management scrutinising performance
• Parts manager spoken to on evening of fire
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• Security systems not yet commissioned
• Parts manager said he secured parts department, including lowering roller shutters
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• Fusible link operated roller shutters closing as Brigade arrived.
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• “We couldn’t have been smoking when we were in the sitting room that evening because we’d both left our cigarettes at home”
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Thank You