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
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.
October 17, 2019
VERTEX is proud to be part of the ENR Mountain States 2019 Best Small Project winning team as the structural engineering consultant on the SugarSquare project in Downtown Denver, CO. Congratulations to Urban Villages, Semple Brown Design, P.C., Jordy Construction and IMEG Corp. (formerly MKK Engineers). SugarSquare is a four-story, 11,400-sq-ft building in Denver’s LoDo…
October 1, 2019
Michael Plainte, VERTEX, and Archie Barrett, CEI (October 2019) The Vertex Companies, Inc. (VERTEX) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Compliance Environmental International, Inc. (CEI). The agreement was signed in the presence of senior leadership of both organizations including Archie Barrett, President and Owner of CEI; Jaron Frieden, Managing Director of VERTEX; Michael Plainte,…
September 12, 2019
As VERTEX’s CEO, Bill McConnell, states, “Education has no finish line.” Bill has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine, a J.D. degree from the University of Denver, a M.S. degree from Columbia University, and he is working towards his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado. He also completed…
September 10, 2019
VERTEX is proud to be named the 2019 Best Environmental Website by Web Marketing Association. Now in its 17th year, the WebAward program is the longest running annual website award competition dedicated to naming the best websites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all website development. The WebAwards are recognized as the…
September 3, 2019
VERTEX’s Bill McConnell, CEO, and Mark Degenaars, Managing Director of Construction Services, are presenting at the 26th Annual Pearlman Conference in Woodinville, WA on September 5th, 2019. Bill will be presenting on “Privilege Issues in the Surety’s Initial Claim Investigation” and Mark will be presenting on “Thinking Outside the Box: Utilizing a Surety’s Own Account…
October 10, 2019
Since 1922, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has sponsored Fire Prevention Week which is observed each year during the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire. This year’s campaign is “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!” which is aimed at educating people about the small…
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…
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