30 Forensic Engineering Welcomes Maksym Tykhomyrov, P.Eng., to Fire and Electrical Investigations Group

30 Forensic Engineering is pleased to announce that Maksym Tykhomyrov, P.Eng., has joined our Fire and Electrical Investigations group as an Associate.

Maksym is a certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and a licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. He began work as a forensic investigator in 2018 and has since been involved in over 200 electrical and fire investigations, primarily involving electrical failures. Maksym holds a Master of Electrical Engineering from The East Ukrainian National University, Lahansk, Ukraine, and a diploma in Wind Power Development and Use from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. He is also a certified Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) pilot.

SPECIALIZED PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

  • Residential and complex industrial electrical fire loss investigation
  • Root cause failure analysis of electric and electronic assemblies, appliances, and installations
  • Electrical systems design and installation
  • Electrical project supervision and organization
  • Risk mitigation audits and remediation assessment

Rashmiya Raviraj, B.A.Sc., CFEI, P.Eng., Practice Lead, Fire and Electrical Investigations, welcomes Maksym to the group, stating, “Maksym’s expertise in electrical engineering, along with his wide range of industry experiences—including work in the sustainable energy sector and in electrical remediation—make him an asset to our growing team. I know he’ll thrive within our collaborative, multidisciplinary environment here at 30.”

About 30 Forensic Engineering

30 Forensic Engineering is one of Canada’s largest and most respected multidisciplinary forensic firms, with offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa. Our core team of 65 professional engineers, experts, investigators, engineering technicians and support staff is enhanced through relationships with some of the top scientists, standard-makers and specialized consultants in North America serving a wide variety of industries including: Insurance, Manufacturing, Legal, Construction, Health Care, Commercial and Residential Property, Financial, Government, Hospitality, Mining, Renewable Energy and Transportation.

We provide world-class engineering and consulting expertise in:

Civil/Structural Failure
Building and Fire Code
Geotechnical and Mining
Biomechanics and Personal Injury
Human Factors
Collision Reconstruction
Transportation Safety
Renewable Energy
Environmental Health and Safety
Multi-disciplinary Remediation
Materials and Product Failure / Piping and HVAC
Fire / Electrical and Explosion investigations
Trucking

For the 7th consecutive year, the Canadian Lawyer Magazine readership has voted 30 Forensic Engineering as one of Canada’s best “Litigation Support & Consulting” firms via their annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

For further information and media inquiries, please contact:

Paul Aquino, Director, Marketing
paquino@30fe.com

For confidential inquiries on becoming a member of the 30 Forensic Engineering team, please contact:

Stephanie d’Obrenan, Director, Human Resources
sdobrenan@30fe.com

Rashmiya Raviraj P.Eng. of 30 Forensic Engineering Joins 2022 National Engineering Month Discussion: ‘Engineering the Future’

30 Forensic Engineering, Canada’s leading multidisciplinary forensic firm, is pleased to announce that Rashmiya Raviraj B.A.Sc., CFEI, P.Eng., Practice Lead, Fire & Electrical, was invited to join the panel for the National Engineering Month discussion, ‘Engineering the Future‘ earlier this year. Presented in conjunction with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, and with the support of hEr VOLUTION, the purpose of this important dialogue is to bring forward women in engineering to discuss opportunities in the field for young women and how we can foster collaboration and initiatives to achieve the goal of 30 by 30.

Since joining 30 Forensic Engineering in 2013, Rashmiya has been involved in excess of 400 fire investigations. Through her work, she has developed expertise in both complex industrial, commercial, and residential electrical and fire losses and has further been involved with the quality assurance and quality control program for Photovoltaic installations. During her nearly decade long tenure with the firm, she has cultivated an industry wide reputation for technical knowledge, engineering excellence, and an unwavering commitment to the highest standards of client service. Rashmiya holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario and possesses a NFPA 921 Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) designation. She intends to grow the 30 Forensic Engineering Fire & Electrical team across Canada – building on the breadth and depth of expertise in fire and electrical loss investigations.

About National Engineering Month

In March 1992, Engineers Canada created National Engineering Month (NEM) as a “celebration of engineering excellence” in Canada. Although many of National Engineering Month’s high-profile activities appeal to youth, fundamentally the campaign strives to strengthen bonds within the profession and those of the profession with society. NEM Ontario is focused on supporting post-secondary students and young professionals to navigate their careers. To do this, we encourage events that include interdisciplinary students & professionals as well as seasoned professionals in the Engineering and Technology communities.

National Engineering Month (NEM) events are organized and led by volunteers all across Canada, guided by a shared message “there’s a place for you” in engineering and technology. In Ontario, we’re excited to deepen the impact of NEM events by focusing on lifelong learning for post-secondary students and professionals defined by the European Commission as: “all purposeful learning activity that is undertaken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills, and competencies within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective”. The theme for #NEM2022 is lifelong learning.

 About hEr VOLUTION

Based in Toronto, Canada, hEr VOLUTION is the go-to place for youth, particularly young women from underserved communities to come to in order to advance in 21st Century Skills. We exist to create opportunities for the next generation of women in STEM connecting them with leaders in the industry for career support. We listen to the needs of the community and that of the STEM industry to better help the next generation of underserved youth, with a focus on young women to enter STEM. hEr VOLUTION was founded by Doina Oncel based on personal experience as well as research with the belief that once we accept diversity, opportunities for women in STEM fields will rise. Doina Oncel knows firsthand what it is like to be an immigrant woman, living in a low-income household, youth at risk, having to overcome domestic violence, homelessness, and now a single mother of two daughters. While surrounding herself with people who encouraged her to become a better self, she learned that she must be the change she wants to see in the world and while she creates opportunities for her daughters she wants to make the world a better place by encouraging parents to do the same for their daughters. Someone has believed in her to give her the opportunities she has today and now she wants to do the same for the next generation to follow.

About 30 Forensic Engineering

30 Forensic Engineering is one of Canada’s largest and most respected multi-disciplinary forensic firms. Our core team of 65 professional engineers, experts, investigators, engineering technicians and support staff is enhanced through relationships with some of the top scientists, standard-makers and specialized consultants in North America serving a wide variety of industries including: Insurance, Manufacturing, Legal, Construction, Health Care, Commercial and Residential Property, Financial, Government, Hospitality, Mining, Renewable Energy and Transportation.

We provide world-class engineering and consulting expertise in:

Civil/Structural Failure
Building and Fire Code
Geotechnical and Mining
Biomechanics & Personal Injury
Human Factors
Collision Reconstruction
Transportation Safety
Renewable Energy
Environmental Health & Safety
Multi-disciplinary Remediation
Materials & Product Failure / Piping & HVAC
Fire / Electrical & Explosion investigations
Trucking

For the 7th consecutive year, the Canadian Lawyer Magazine readership has voted 30 Forensic Engineering as one of Canada’s best “Litigation Support & Consulting” firms via their annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

For further information and media inquiries, please contact:

Paul Aquino, Director, Marketing
paquino@30fe.com

For confidential inquiries on becoming a member of the 30 Forensic Engineering team, please contact:

Stephanie d’Obrenan, Director, Human Resources
sdobrenan@30fe.com

Fire Losses from Start to Finish: WEBINAR

30 Forensic Engineering, Canada’s leading and fully-independent multidisciplinary forensics firm continues its in-demand weekly webinar series with the fourth instalment in the popular curriculum. Join industry leading experts on Thursday, June 4th as they lead a discussion on: Fire Losses from Start to Finish.  This dynamic webinar will be of importance to industry professionals such as: insurance company personnel, risk managers, independent adjusters, legal community + more.

Click HERE to Register

As forensic experts in the industry, our focus with fire losses and fire investigations is to identify the origin and cause of failures and to examine opportunities for subrogation. To ensure that we are seeing the loss in full picture, we involve our fire investigators within our various disciplines to carefully analyze contributing factors to fire losses.

The purpose of this webinar is to present the typical flow of our fire loss investigations from start to finish (i.e. the first phone call from our clients to a tangible written report). Fire related forensic investigations may require determining the origin and cause of a loss, assessing the pre-existing conditions at the loss location and exploring potential subrogation opportunities. Depending on what stage of investigation we are engaged at, we design our approach to verify that we are seeing the loss in full picture.

This webinar will facilitate the following learning outcomes to insurance adjusters and lawyers that provide services involving property losses relating specifically to fire:

  • Understanding the various stages of involvement of fire loss investigations
  • Important questions to ask and documentation to collect for the assessment of pre-loss conditions and various other contributing factors to the loss
  • Step by step process relating to our testing, analysis and reporting of our findings
  • Reaching a determination of the origin and cause of fires, fire classifications and subrogation opportunities

WEBINAR

Fire Losses from Start to Finish

Date:

Thursday, June 4th, 2020

Time:

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST

Click HERE to Register

If you have any questions, please email Colleen Heffernan: cheffernan@30fe.com

SPEAKERS

Tom Pepper B.Eng., CFEI, P.Eng.
Practice Lead
Building & Fire Code
tpepper@30fe.com

30 Forensic Seminar Series at a Glance
(click on webinar titles to register)

Joint Examinations and Site Assessments During COVID-19

Thursday, May 14th – 11:00am EST

Water Loss Investigations in Condo and Office Towers – Systems Overview and Failure Case Studies

Thursday, May 21st – 11:00am EST

Collision Reconstruction Assessments of Suspected Fraudulent Claims

Thursday, May 28th – 11:00am EST

Fire Losses from Start to Finish

Thursday, June 4th – 11:00am

Soil-Structure Interaction – Losses Requiring Geotechnical and Structural Expertise

Thursday, June 11th – 11:00am EST

Multidisciplinary Assessments of Personal Injury Claims – Biomechanics, Building Code and Human Factors

Thursday, June 18th – 11:00am EST

How to Stop Building Envelope and Environmental Issues from Turning Small Losses into Big Losses

Thursday, June 25th —  11:00am EST

Human Factors & Collision Reconstruction – Cover Your Bases in Liability Assessments

Thursday, July 9th —  11:00am EST

About 30 Forensic Engineering

30 Forensic Engineering is one of Canada’s largest and most respected multi-disciplinary forensic firms. Our core team of 70 professional engineers, experts, investigators, engineering technicians and support staff is enhanced through relationships with some of the top scientists, standard-makers and specialized consultants in North America serving a wide variety of industries including: Insurance, Manufacturing, Legal, Construction, Health Care, Commercial and Residential Property, Financial, Government, Hospitality, Mining, Renewable Energy and Transportation.

We provide world-class engineering and consulting expertise in:

Civil/Structural Failure
Building and Fire Code
Geotechnical and Mining
Biomechanics & Personal Injury
Human Factors
Collision Reconstruction
Transportation Safety
Renewable Energy
Environmental Health & Safety
Multi-disciplinary Remediation
Materials & Product Failure / Piping & HVAC
Fire / Electrical & Explosion investigations
Trucking

The Canadian Lawyer Magazine readership acknowledged 30 Forensic Engineering as their top choice in both forensic engineering categories:

For further information and media inquiries, please contact:

Paul Aquino, Director, Marketing
paquino@30fe.com

For confidential inquiries on becoming a member of the 30 Forensic Engineering team, please contact:

Stephanie d’Obrenan, Director, Human Resources
sdobrenan@30fe.com

                VANCOUVER                TORONTO                           OTTAWA

30 Forensic Engineering Strengthens Fire Investigation Group with the Senior Appointment of Brandon Northrup

30 Forensic Engineering, Canada’s leading and fully-independent multi-disciplinary forensics firm, is excited to announce that Brandon Northrup, B.Sc., CFO, CFEI, CMM III has joined the firm as a Senior Fire Investigator within our Fire & Electrical Investigations Group.

Brandon brings over fifteen years of experience as a fire chief and firefighter to 30 Forensic Engineering.   As a fire service professional, Brandon has attended hundreds of fires giving him unique insights into the investigation of fires.  In addition to his experience with fire investigation, Brandon has completed over 50 training courses related to firefighting, fire investigation and emergency management.  Brandon has a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Service Administration and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Emergency Services Management. Furthermore, he holds both Fire Service Leadership and Fire Service Administration certificates from Dalhousie University.

In addition to his extensive experience as a Fire Chief, Brandon is a licensed radio operator, a Red Seal certified sheet metal worker and holds 11 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) certifications, to include Hazardous Materials Technician, Fire Officer, 3 and Incident Safety Officer. He holds the following professional designations:

  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) from the National Association of Fire Investigators.
  • Executive Chief Fire Officer (ECFO), Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.
  • Certified Municipal Manager III (CMMIII), Ontario Municipal Management Institute.
  • Community Emergency Management Coordinator (CEMC), Emergency Management Ontario.

30 Forensic Engineering is proud to have someone with Brandon’s extensive fire investigation related skill set join our firm.  Robert Sparling, Vice President, states “Brandon’s professionalism, enthusiasm, and unique perspective on fires will serve our clients fire investigation needs exceptionally well.”

2018 Forensic Investigation Forum: Ottawa

30 Forensic Engineering, Canada’s leading and fully-independent multi-disciplinary forensics firm was pleased to host the 2018 Forensic Investigation Forum in our nation’s capital. Held downtown Ottawa on June 19th, the afternoon seminar brought together senior industry leaders and was designed to provide a current forensic engineering perspective on property and casualty claims and risk mitigation.  30 Forensic Engineering would like to take this opportunity to thank our Ottawa area insurance and legal industry partners for making the event a success.


Behind the Wheel of Truck & Auto Investigations

What’s Driving The Future of Collision Reconstruction?  Understanding The Role of Biomechanics and Human Factors in Motor Vehicle Accidents.

Speakers:

 

Jamie Catania, B.E.Sc., M.Eng., P.Eng
President, Head of Casualty Group

 

 

 

Mark Fabbroni, B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc., P.Eng
Principal, Trucking Claims

 

 

 

Rob Parkinson, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D
Principal, Biomechanics and Personal Injury

 

 

 

Adam Campbell, B.Kin., Ph.D
Senior Associate, Human Factors

 

 

 

Mark Paquette, B.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Senior Associate, Collision Reconstruction

 

 


A Forensic Engineering View on Fire, Flood 
& Property Loss Investigations 

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Mitigate Risk & Expense on
Property Files.

Speakers:

 

Robert Sparling, B.Eng.Mgt., P.Eng
Vice President

 

 

 

Jeff Reitsma, MBA, PMP, P.Eng
Principal, Multidisciplinary Remediation

 

 

 

Tom Pepper, B.Eng., P.Eng
Practice Lead, Building and Fire Code

 

 

 

 

Mrinmoy Kanungo, M.E.Sc., P.Eng
Practice Lead, Geotechnical & Mining

 

 

 

 

30 Forensic Engineering Launches Fixed-Fee Fire Investigation Service

30 Forensic Engineering, Canada’s leading and fully-independent multi-disciplinary forensics firm, is pleased to introduce a Fixed-Fee Fire Investigation Service. This offering will provide clients with fire scene investigations conducted by NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators (CFEI) at a set fee.

30 Fixed-Fee Fire Investigation Service includes:

  • FULL site assessment and primary investigation, within one business day
  • Identification of cause/origin and potential subrogation opportunity
  • Verbal report (written report available by request)
  • Travel to site (within 200 km of Toronto office)
  • $1995

Along with the fire scene investigation team, the initiative will be anchored by expert, Matt Roberts, B.A. Sc. F.S. (Forensic Science), CFEI, CCFI-C. A true leader in the Canadian fire investigation community, Matt has more than half a decade of fire investigation experience, with extensive expertise in residential structure fires and additional experience participating in large loss remediation projects as part of 30 Forensic Engineering’s integrated Fire and Electrical Investigations team. Our highly trained and experienced team have investigated thousands of cases to date. All of our investigations are conducted thoroughly with detailed documentation of evidence followed by ‘true to facts’ reporting.

Andy Brown, C. Eng., Eur Ing, MIET, SMIEEE, Principal of the Fire and Electrical Investigations team at 30, explains that the offering was developed in response to client demand: “Our clients expect the highest quality of fire investigation services—but they are also looking for cost certainty. Under this new offering, our clients will benefit from the highest quality of fire investigation the industry has to offer, at the best value.”

To submit a fixed-fee fire investigation assignment or for more information, please contact:

Angela Cogliano, Team Lead, Project Coordinator (Fire and Electrical Investigations)
Direct: 647-738-8403 | acogliano@30fe.com

For additional information about 30 Forensic Engineering’s Fire and Electrical Investigations please contact:

Andy Brown, C. Eng., Eur Ing, MIET, SMIEEE
Direct: 647-738-5731 | abrown@30fe.com

30 Forensic Engineering Forms Integrated Fire and Electrical Investigations Division

30 Forensic Engineering, Canada’s leading and fully-independent multi-disciplinary forensics firm, is pleased to announce that the Fire and Electrical groups will merge to form an integrated Fire and Electrical Investigations division.

With over 30 years of wide-ranging European & North American engineering experience, Principal, Andy Brown C.Eng. Eur Ing, MIET, SMIEEE will lead the team and sees the merger as a natural fit due to the many synergies that exist between the two disciplines as many fire losses have their origins in electrical failure and arc flash incidents. Many of the qualifications of the electrical engineer and fire investigator cross over to the benefit of both disciplines.

Senior Associate James Wheeler B.A.Sc., CFEI, P.E., P.Eng, takes on a technical leadership role within fire investigations and exemplifies this crossover with an impressive 30 year career as both a fire investigator and an electrical engineer.

The team is further bolstered with the knowledge and hands on experience of three NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators, five Forensic Electrical Engineers / Investigators, a registered Electrical Technician and a Master Electrician. The diverse experience of the team spans a wide array of fire investigations and electrical investigations (ranging from 110v (LV) to High Voltage applications), associated with residential, industrial, manufacturing, transmission, distribution and power utilities. The team also carries out investigation of electrical accidents involving electrocution and electric shock and provides expert reports and testimony for litigation and arbitration. To date, the highly trained and experienced Fire and Electrical group has investigated thousands of cases.

As the science of fire and electrical investigations is rapidly changing, much of what was accepted as solid science 20 years ago has been debunked by new techniques and discoveries. The integration of the two groups provides 30 Forensic Engineering with the opportunity to make the most of the synergistic relationship between electrical and fire investigations and associated remediation. We see it as our mission to provide our highly valued clients with science-based findings that enable them to see the entire picture, establish cause and origin, identify possible opportunities for subrogation and make a complete assessment in order to take action with confidence. All 30 Forensic Engineering investigations are conducted thoroughly with detailed documentation of evidence followed by ‘true to facts’ reporting.

For additional information and to submit an assignment, please contact:

Angela Cogliano
Team Lead, Project Coordinator (Fire)
Direct: 416-738-8403
acogliano@30fe.com

Vanessa Lacey
Project Coordinator (Electrical)
Direct: 416-738-5889
vlacey@30fe.com

Andy Brown, C.Eng. Eur Ing, MIET, SMIEEE
Principal
Office: 416-368-1700
Direct: 647-738-5731
abrown@30fe.com

James Wheeler, B.A.Sc., CFEI, P.E., P.Eng.
Senior Associate
Office: 416-368-1700
Direct: 647-738-5472
jwheeler@30fe.com

For further information, please contact:

Paul Aquino, Director, Marketing
Direct: 647-738-5326
paquino@30fe.com

For confidential inquiries on becoming a member of the 30 Forensic Engineering team, please contact:

Jamie Burns, Director, Human Resources & Talent Acquisition
Direct: 647-738-5472
jburns@30fe.com

30 Welcomes Dan Stanton to the Electrical Group

30 is pleased welcome Dan Stanton, the newest member to the Electrical Engineering Group!

Dan hails from Toronto where he completed an Electrical Engineering Technical program at Humber College, before moving to Edmonton to take up various electrical contracting and supervisory positions associated with the heavy electrical construction industry, then having been hit by lightning, came to his senses and returned to his home City to join 30 as an Intermediate Associate in the Electrical Engineering team.

Dan has a good solid electrical background including hands-on in electrical testing and contracting in all areas up to 33,000V. He is an extremely good fit to further supplement our growing “Forensic Centre of Excellence”, his skills both complement and enhance the services that the rest of the Electrical Engineering team offers.

Welcome to 30, Dan!

GK Welcomes Tara Kazerouni to the Electrical Group!

Giffin Koerth is excited to announce the newest arrival to the Electrical Group, Tara Kazerouni!

Tara hails from Iran where she completed a Bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering, before moving to India to do a Master of Technology Electrical Engineering and then onwards to Saskatoon for a Master of Electrical Engineering. She bring to GK a good solid background with international over tones, to supplement our Forensic Centre of Excellence.

As well as studying around the world, Tara has gained experience of Fire Alarm systems and has been in a teaching role within the University as well as volunteering with elementary school students, the most recent of which has been teaching robotics in Toronto.

Welcome to the team, Tara!

Giffin Koerth’s Electrical Forensic Group to Participate in 2016 Electrical Insulation Conference (EIC) in Montreal, QC

From Sunday, June 19th to Wednesday, June 21 Giffin Koerth’s Electrical Forensic Group will be in Montreal to attend the 34th Electrical Insulation Conference at Hotel Bonaventure in Montreal, QC. The Electrical Group will be represented by Andy Brown and Keith Foster, supported by Vanessa Lacey and Alexandra Jones.

Giffin Koerth will be exhibiting at the conference on Monday and Tuesday during lunch and the Poster Session in the evening. On-site registration is available, so come by and say hello!

Andy Brown is Chairing one of the Rotating Plant sessions at the Conference and will also be participating in the IEEE Standards working group meetings relating to High Voltage Insulation and testing, which take place after the close of the 2016 EIC on Rotating Machinery. These working group meetings are held by the IEEE DEIS Materials Subcommittee of the Electrical Machinery Committee, and allow for the discussion and new definitions of existing and new working standards in the industry. For more information, please reach out to Andy.

The Electrical Group is excited and honoured to be a part of this year’s EIC! To learn more about Giffin Koerth’s Electrical service offerings, click here.