Forensic Consulting Services

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.

Fire Origin & Cause

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.

Failure Analysis

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.

Fire Investigation Liability, Subrogation & Litigation Support

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.

Vehicle and Marine Fire Loss Investigations

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.

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VERTEX Corporate Overview

VERTEX provides integrated solutions for Forensic Consulting, Engineering Design, Construction, and Environmental matters. Our technical consulting and contracting solutions help to create state of the art structures, clean up oil and hazardous material, support catastrophic response efforts, resolve project disputes, and solve a wide array of technical challenges.

Forensic Services

Construction is fraught with risk, and mistakes are common. In a litigious environment marked by shrinking industry margins, clients rely on VERTEX to determine potential causes for error and manage the fallout from claims. VERTEX has worked on construction portfolios with values in the billions of dollars. As a result, we are uniquely positioned to help insurance clients effectively manage construction defect, general liability, professional liability, premise liability, product liability, property damage, and subrogation claims.

Fire Investigation Services

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.

Strategic & Technical Solutions for the Insurance Industry

VERTEX helps insurance companies, syndicates, third-party administrators, attorneys, underwriters and risk managers meet these challenges with remarkable efficiency and success. VERTEX offers a history of excellence in the environmental, forensic services, air quality, and energy markets. Our outstanding reputation stems from the depth of our expertise and a rigorous focus on responsive, personalized service.

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Middleton, MA, USA
Forensic Consulting

Explosion Claim Management

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Warwick, RI, USA
Forensic Consulting

Origin & Cause Investigation of Fire at Auto Repair Shop

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Upstate, NY, USA
Forensic Consulting

Origin & Cause Investigation of Fire at Lumber Yard

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Chicago, IL, USA
Forensic Consulting

Tanker Trailer Explosion Claim

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Key Personnel

Henry Stormer

Henry Stormer, IAAI-CFI (V), CFPS

National Division Manager, Fire Investigation

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. 

News

VERTEX's Henry Stormer Receives Motor Vehicle Fire Credential

August 15, 2019

Henry Stormer, National Fire Investigation Division Manager for VERTEX, was recently awarded the Certified Motor Vehicle Fire Investigator credential, IAAI-CFI (V). The International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) is an international professional association of more than 9,000 fire investigation professionals. The IAAI Specialized Program Credential Endorsement programs serve to provide a pathway for recognition as…

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VERTEX Gets Demo of Robotics from 'Sister Bots'

August 9, 2019

Sister Bots at VERTEX, August 9, 2019 VERTEX’s Denver office recently had an inspiring demonstration on how robotics is creating innovative thinkers when our favorite First Lego League (FLL) robotics team, Sister Bots, came to the office to show us some solutions from Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Sister Bots are comprised of our own Claire…

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VERTEX Celebrates the Grand Opening of Encore Casino

June 19, 2019

The VERTEX Team from left to right:  Bill Gibbons, Patty Plante, Jeff Koon’s ‘Popeye,’ Rachel MacPhee, Jaron Frieden, Sean Dinneen, Emily Walker. The VERTEX Team was an invited guest at the Encore Casino earlier this week to celebrate the opening of this grand resort to the public on June 23rd, 2019. Working alongside the great…

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VERTEX Ranked #27 in ENR's Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms

June 17, 2019

VERTEX is proud to be ranked #27 in ENR’s Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firms. Companies are ranked based on total 2018 revenue in $ millions for construction-management or project/program-management services performed as a professional service for a fee. As reported by ENR, in the current hot industry market, third-party construction and program management firms also…

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VERTEX Sponsors Bisnow's Denver State of the Market

June 7, 2019

Join VERTEX Engineers, Construction Experts, and Environmental Scientists at Bisnow’s Denver State of the Market on Wednesday, June 26th at 7:30am.  Get 20% off your registration with our discount code: VCSD20LHEO. What you’ll learn: 1. As Denver’s multifamily rents continue to increase, how will developers and the City of Denver approach the need for affordable…

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Blog

What is an Expert Witness and how can they help me?

March 5, 2019

With the continued growth in litigation over the past several years, VERTEX has seen a steady increase in expert consulting work to support our clients. VERTEX has been retained to act on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in regards to liability and damages. The main goal of expert consulting is to add value to the…

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Home Heating Safety & Fire Prevention Tips

December 19, 2018

Here in New England, the winter weather is in full swing. With the cold weather comes the threat of home fires from heating sources. According to the US Fire Administration (USFA): 890 people die in winter home fires each year. $2 billion in property loss occurs each year from winter home fires. Winter home fires…

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National Fire Prevention Week 2018

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…

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Firework Safety Tips

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…

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Ladder Safety Training Video

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…

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