Articles
In a presentation which can be down-loaded from their excellent website, the HSE say that they “prosecuted more than 1,200 times and secured justice in 9 out of 10 cases” during a recent year.
Burgoynes investigates around 25 thatched building fires a year and whilst thatch fires represent a small proportion of building fires as a whole, the losses are disproportionately high. This is because thatched properties are generally of higher than average value and are frequently listed structures, leading to high repair costs.
DRI is produced by passing hot reducing gases such as hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide over iron ore (oxide), which is usually in the form of pellets or lumps. Although the process is conducted at high temperatures, these are still substantially below the melting point of iron.
From time to time investigators from Burgoynes have been called upon to investigate the causes of fires that have occurred within sauna cubicles. Such fires, occurring as they do in sauna compartments that are timber-lined, are prone to develop rapidly and often cause substantial damage. Where such cubicles are located in leisure complexes or hotels the fires can lead to substantial economic loss.
We have been contacted for advice increasingly frequently in the past two years in connection with coal shipments from Indonesia: in just the past couple of months we have dealt with six incidents involving heating coal cargoes from Kalimantan.
The root cause of the problems is related to the nature of the coals, combined with the manner in which they have been handled prior to and during loading.
Senior Partner Chris Foster has been featured in "Burning Desire", published in the Telegraph Magazine on 17 October 2009 and on line, which describes the work of fire investigators and focuses in particular on the "hidden plague" of arson. The author, Eric Clark, describes the work of investigators from London Fire Brigade and features Burgoynes, major insurers, loss adjusters and lawyers. Chris points out that "you can't do armchair investigations" and goes on to describe the general principles of investigation, including recording without disturbance followed by an in-depth search of the scene.
There are instances where a vessel is alleged to have collided with a fixed or moving object and where the witness evidence, or lack of it, requires support by an examination of the physical evidence. In such cases the physical evidence most often relied upon is that provided by a comparison of paint samples taken from the vessel and the object with which it is alleged to have collided. As forensic chemists many of our consultants have a detailed knowledge of paint comparisons including their chemical analysis, largely through dealing with vehicle accident work for the police, such as in pedestrian hit-and-run cases.
We have all heard of metal fatigue. It is a subject studied in great depth by metallurgists and materials scientists. It is frequently mentioned in reports prepared by Burgoynes and is occasionally mentioned in the printed press or broadcast media. We are often asked to explain what it is. The following should help.
Operators of bulk fleets will be aware of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and of the appropriate precautions that must be taken to ensure its safe carriage by sea. However, we are aware of a number of shippers who are offering a material for bulk shipment that is clearly a DRI product, but is claimed to be safe for bulk carriage by sea without the usual precautions. However, we are also aware of two explosions, and a potential explosion, in the past year that have occurred on vessels that were carrying this cargo.
This article was written by Dr Christopher Foster for the Swedish Club and is reproduced with their kind permission.
