Stephen joined Burgoynes in 1989, became a Partner in 1996 and opened the Manchester office in 1997. 

He has undertaken over 1150 investigations in the United Kingdom, Eire, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Norway, South Africa, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the Caribbean. He has given expert testimony in Court as an expert witness in criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom, civil proceedings in the United Kingdom and Spain and a Public Enquiry into a fatal gas explosion in Singapore.

He has investigated the cause of fires on board ships in the United Kingdom, Norway, Slovenia, Turkey and Greece. Land-based fire incidents he has investigated include industrial and domestic buildings, electrical and electrolysis equipment, heat-producing appliances (including gas fired, oil-fired and solid fuel burning plant), heated animal and vegetable fats, flammable liquids, materials that ignite spontaneously upon contact with air, agricultural and automotive equipment, paint spraying facilities, the printing industry and domestic appliances.

He has undertaken investigations into explosions involving natural gas-fired plant for drying solvent-based paint in the vehicle manufacturing industry; natural gas fired plant for steam-raising, the leakage of natural gas into both domestic and commercial buildings, LPG leakages into both domestic and commercial buildings, accidental releases of solvents including hexane and toluene, deliberate application of volatile flammable liquids (eg petrol), the high pressure release of hydrogen into a laboratory and the hot surface ignition of rubber pyrolysis products in a large vehicle tyre.

He has investigated carbon monoxide poisoning incidents involving fuel gas burning appliances in both domestic and commercial environments.

He is a past lecturer on explosions and explosion incident investigation at the Fire Services Technical College at Moreton in Marsh.