Fire Investigation

Fire investigation is the practice of examining sites of fires to determine their causes. In fire investigation, the main objective of an investigator is to determine where, how and why the fire occurred.

Three components are required to start a fire: fuel, oxygen, and heat, which are commonly referred to as the fire triangle. Sometimes, the chemical chain reaction is added to the fire triangle and redefined the triangle to a tetrahedron. Once a fire has started, the resulting exothermic chain reaction sustains the fire and allows it to continue until or unless at least one of the elements is blocked.

The key elements that determine the cause of the fire rely on the determination of the first material ignited and of the source of ignition. Heat energy can be produced by mechanical, electrical, chemical, or radioactive means. The role of fire investigation is to identify the event that brought together the combustible, the oxidizer, and the source of ignition that started the fire.

Our experts have investigated lots of fire incidents. Scientific method is our basis for any failure analysis / forensic investigation. We conduct fire investigation by reviewing background information, incident site inspection, lab analysis of selected representative samples, and rigorous logical inference.
We determine fire origin according to received background information (e.g., witness reports, photographs, videos, alarm system activities, etc.), fire patterns of the incident site, arc mapping at the incident site, and fire dynamics.
We identify the cause(s) of fire at origin through identification of the 1st fuel ignited, heat source, oxidant (usually air), and ignition sequence.
We analyze the fire development considering the type and amount of combustible materials, airflow, the structure of the fire site, fire protection system’s activities, etc.

1. Training service
Among our investigated fire incidents, the majority of them are electrical-related fire incidents. We provide the following training course: Common electrical heat sources for fire incidents and proactive inspection methods of possible electrical heat sources.

2. Technical support in insurance claims or Expert Witness service in court cases
If a fire incident is related to an insurance claim or court case, we can provide technical support service or expert witness service accordingly.

• conduct fire investigation;
• review and comment on other parties’ investigation reports;
• give our professional opinions based on facts/sound evidence discovered by the scientific method, scientific theories/principles, and industry common practices.

Our experts have experience in providing technical support services for insurance claims and expert witness service in court cases. Our experts have given testimony in court trials both in Singapore and overseas.