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 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.
April 11, 2019
On Friday, April 12th, VERTEX CEO, Bill McConnell, will be presenting at the ASC 2019 International Conference along with Carloine Clevenger, Assistant Director of Construction Engineering and Management at University of Colorado Denver. Learn more about VERTEX’s educational partnership with University of Colorado Denver. 2019 Theme: The Business of the Built Environment Join industry professionals who will…
April 9, 2019
Legionnaires’ Disease and Insurance As the number of reported Legionella infections has increased, so has the number of lawsuits and claims. In reaction to the growing number of claims made asserting liability for illnesses related to exposure to Other Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogens (OPPPs) and the higher standard of care that must be met to…
April 4, 2019
VERTEX University has partnered with Joshua N. Weiss, Ph.D., the co-founder of the Global Negotiation Initiative at Harvard University, a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Negotiation Project, and President of Negotiation Works, Inc., to develop a series of courses (Conflict Analysis, Conflict Dynamics and Conflict Resolution) for the VERTEX team. Many of VERTEX’s projects involve…
March 8, 2019
At the center of the circular soffit – sometimes referred to as “the mothership” by management – is the new elevator feature, the construction of which posed a number of challenges to both the design and construction. The previous elevator base had been wrapped in dark gray granite with a water feature draining into…
January 18, 2019
The Vertex Companies, Inc. (VERTEX) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Compass Project Management, Inc. (Compass). “To VERTEX this acquisition is about joining forces with an amazing company whose mission and core values are aligned with ours.” said Jeff Picard, President of VERTEX. “Together we believe we will create more value to our employees and…
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…
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…
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…
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