Only highly experienced professionals can perform the complex tasks of uncovering the origin and cause of a fire or explosion. By evaluating the circumstances surrounding what happened and why, VERTEX is able to provide our clients with the technical expertise needed for them to determine coverage in a timely manner, reduce claim costs, combat fraud, and ultimately achieve closure with a solid, court defensible understanding of events and outcomes.
Using a full service approach and in a manner consistent with the Scientific Method and guidelines of NFPA 921, our NFPA 1033 qualified experts apply the highest level of professional competence in their investigative skills and techniques. VERTEX provides evidence collection, chain of custody as well as incident reporting, providing our customers with solid and reliable determination of origin and cause that will withstand the challenges of litigation.
Through scientific analysis, VERTEX can quickly and accurately determine whether the root cause of the fire or explosion was due to an electrical or mechanical component, human error, natural events, or arson.
VERTEX experts assist the insurance client and litigator by having highly trained and qualified professionals conduct site investigations that can determine the potential existence of third party culpability. VERTEX experts are experienced in reporting, depositions, and court testimony regarding fire and explosion incidents.
Our experts are available to not only investigate the origin and cause of structure fires, but also fires that have taken place in motor vehicles, trucks, industrial equipment and marine vessels.
Origin & Cause Investigation of Fire at Auto Repair Shop
National Division Manager, Fire Investigation
Henry Stormer
Henry Stormer is the National Division Manager for VERTEX’s Fire Investigation Division. His primary responsibilities include management of origin and cause investigations nationwide for the insurance industry as well as conducting Cause and Origin investigations of fire and explosions. Mr. Stormer is a fire expert with over 30 years of experience investigating fires and explosions both in the public and private sectors. His fields of expertise include: fire and explosion investigations, origin and cause, subrogation, failure analysis, evidence collection and preservation, fire code analysis and research, crime scene investigations, and arson investigations.
December 4, 2018
Over the past 23 years, VERTEX has been able to support hundreds of organizations across North America. 2018 offered VERTEX the opportunity to support both new and returning charities, many of which were submitted by our employee-owners. Check out the 2018 highlights. A very big THANK YOU to our employee-owners for your charitable work and contributions….
November 5, 2018
VERTEX’s Thomas Koch, CIH, MEPM, Vice President of Industrial Hygiene/EHS Services will be leading a 3-Day Basic Consultant Methamphetamine-affected Property Initial Training on November 27th to 29th, 2018 in our Denver office. This 3-day training course will cover topics about meth-affected property as well as an overview of related statutes and regulations. We will also discuss…
October 19, 2018
VERTEX is proud to be a Silver Sponsor of the Women in Construction Conference in Washington, D.C. on October 19th. To help women in architecture, engineering, construction, the trades, real estate, lawyers, and consultants build skills and develop relationships that will help both their firms and themselves in their continued success, an annual conference is organized with…
October 17, 2018
Join VERTEX Engineers, Construction Experts, and Environmental Scientists at Bisnow Denver’s New Construction and Development Forum on Tuesday, October 30th at 7:30am. Get 20% off your registration with our discount code: VCSD20ZERS. What you’ll learn: 1) Construction costs are rising, materials are expensive and the labor shortage is real. What are the viable solutions (in the foreseeable future) to a…
October 3, 2018
In conjunction with the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association (CDLA), VERTEX is co-hosting a CLE event with Exponent on Thursday, November 1st at Union Station Denver. VERTEX’s Ryan Phillips will be presenting on “Cost Estimating Basics in Construction Defect Matters – Best Practices and Key Considerations” at 3pm. Join our engineers and experts for an afternoon of CLE…
October 10, 2018
Each year, at the beginning of October, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) sponsors Fire Prevention Week; a campaign to raise awareness around fire safety and prevention. This year’s focus is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” which is aimed at educating people about three basic but essential steps to take to reduce the likelihood…
July 3, 2018
Fireworks are synonymous with the celebration of Independence Day. It’s almost impossible to make it through the holiday without seeing some kind of fireworks display. But, even small fireworks can cause serious damage. Each July 4th, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are injured while using consumer fireworks. Despite the dangers of fireworks, few…
April 11, 2018
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), over 500,000 people are treated each year for ladder related falls. Whether you use a ladder out in the field, in your workplace or at home, safety should always be your number one priority. At VERTEX, safety is part of our culture. We recently hosted…
February 21, 2018
Introduction As forensic engineers, it is often our responsibility to assess the structural integrity of a building after a natural disaster or an event from unfortunate circumstances. It is also our responsibility to determine the necessary repairs that need to be made to the structural framing of the building in order to return it to…
September 28, 2017
As we enter autumn it’s a great time to begin preparations for a fire safe winter in buildings and homes. 1 in 6 home fires in the United States are attributed to heating equipment, as are 1 in 5 residential fire deaths. The single most important action that can be taken by home and building…
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