Services

PHOTO AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS

Appliance(s), equipment, electrical wiring and fire debris found near the origin area must be examined by fire causation experts and electrical engineers to tell the story of events. Photographs should be taken from as many angles as possible to ensure consistent application of ruling in or out of ignition sources. Information about each item must be collected so that a proper identification can be obtained to perform scene reconstruction of the incident along with fire behavior patterns to assist in the fire cause analysis.

ORIGIN AND CAUSE INVESTIGATIONS

Evidence examinations are very important when conducting a fire or explosion investigation. We conduct these examinations to identify fire debris, rule out or in possible ignition sources and to conduct failure analysis. Mr. Reisen has led evidence examinations under his case management coordination with all interested parties to establish a joint investigation evidence protocol, maintaining a safe environment and to deploy destructive evidence testing if warranted to find the cause of the fire.

PRODUCT LIABILITY AND SUBROGATION

Legal considerations impact every phase of a fire investigation, product failure or human negligent case. Our goal is to produce reliable documents, fire debris samples, statements, data and a final hypothesis of what happen to present to our clients and the judicial system when called upon.

Mr. Reisen has given testimony in civil and criminal depositions and trials with successful conclusions. He has been qualified as a fire causation expert in civil and criminal courts.

Interviewing is an ART form, and we can assist our clients in obtaining the truth. Many people do tell the truth during interview sessions; however, some people don't tell the whole story, or they leave out details that can be detected. People tell their accounts of what happen and they use words that detect a certain action or emotion that we are able to connect to the event that shows the persons true intent.

INTERVIEWING

FIRE PROTECTION AND DETECTION SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Fire detection, suppression and alarm systems are an important part of any building safety system. We review the alarm or detection system, inspect the maintenance records to ensure compliance along with the performance of the devices and system. The scope of our investigation is to analysis the suppression system to see if it functioned correctly or assist in the spreading of the fire.

Fire is a rapid oxidation process which provides an exothermic chemical reaction and can do serve damage to property making it difficult to locate the cause. Whether it's a residential or commercial structure, wildland, vehicle, vessel or personal property, we search for all possible ignition sources until we can prove which source caused the fire.

A search for all combustible and flammable properties of fuel and all ignition sources are examined to locate the actual point of origin within the area of origin. It is ideal to visit the loss site for the examination; however, Mr. Reisen has made successful determinations by analyzing loss site photographs from other investigators and attending evidence examinations.

FIRE CONSULTANTS AND FIRE CAUSATION EXPERTS

SERIOUS INJURY OR LINE-OF-DUTY DEATH INVESTIGATION

Photographs from a fire scene investigation or fire code incident can tell a story of What, Where, When, and sometimes How the incident progressed. To a trained expert in the field of fire causation, photos can show how heat, smoke, and fire traveled through the structure and what stages (phases) the fire advanced through.

Analyzing documents, written statements and depositions transcripts can determine the timeline of a fire, how victims played a role in the incident and if someone is not telling the truth. Photos can also supply information on events that may have occurred before the fire, living conditions and even the condition of fire detection or suppression devices.

EXPERT TESTIMONY

Once the interview starts, we set the NORM for the interviewee and build a rapport so that they start to feel comfortable with the interviewer, this sets the stage for them opening up and and being truthful. Stats show that suspects reveal more information and become open to admissions when they feel comfortable with the interviewer.

The purpose to our interviews is to Diagnose, Identify, and Recognize the truth or deception in verbal and written statements. Mr. Reisen has been retained in several high-profile cases to interview witnesses and people of interest with successful outcomes.

EVIDENCE EXAMINATIONS

Mr. Reisen will apply his talent and skills in the Art of Reading Body Language and his Advanced Interviewing Techniques to seek the truth. Before the interview, we set the stage for the interview and prepare the setting in advance.

As a chief fire officer, you never want to image one of your firefighters experiencing a serious injury or death in the line-of-duty. Once local and state law enforcement officers complete their investigation and find no criminal intent, the evidence of the incident must be kept for a possible civil litigation from the family or product vendor. All equipment and gear worn by the firefighter at the time of the event becomes evidence and will need to be collected, preserved and recorded for a possible evidence examination by all interested parties. Today, fire departments and their vendors are being sued for not preserving, destroying or saving critical evidence as in bunker gear, SCBA packs and bottles, fire gloves, helmets, hoods, portable radios and tools for possible failure. Manufacturers, equipment service and repair vendors, family members and attorneys have the legal right to examine these items in a controlled environment.

Releasing any evidence to local, state or federal organizations to examine equipment without all parties being notified can lead to civil litigation.

If evidence is not preserved, fire chiefs and their departments can be found guilty of spoliation of evidence and subject to subrogation civil lawsuits.

If your department or organization would like to host the course "Conducting a Serious Injury and LODD Investigation", to develop a team on how to prepare for this type of event, contact us for a proposal on this training.