Chris is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and Certified Level II Fire Inspector with over 18 years of experience at the London Fire Department, where he worked in fire suppression, inspections, investigations, and as Acting Chief Fire Prevention Officer. Since 2021, he has served as a Fire Prevention Officer and Investigator with the Municipality of Southwest Middlesex Fire Department.
In addition to his operational work, Chris is a professor at Fanshawe College, teaching fire inspection and investigation in the Fire and Life Safety program and Public Safety Fundamentals. He is the Lead Instructor for the NFPA 1033 Fire Investigation Course with the Ontario Fire College and delivers organization-wide fire inspection and investigation training for the London Fire Department. He also teaches the NFPA 921 Course “Guide for Fire and Explosions” with IAAI Ontario.
Chris specializes in fire department litigation, providing expert analysis in fire origin and cause, suppression tactics, and response protocols. His work supports legal teams and municipalities in defending or prosecuting claims related to fire department conduct, equipment failure, and operational decision-making. With a deep understanding of NFPA standards, the Ontario Fire Code, and departmental guidelines, policies, and procedures, he bridges the gap between fire inspection/investigation and the legal complexities surrounding fire department liability.
John is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and Fuels Specialist. He has over 17 years of experience, including 3 years with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority where he was Fuels Safety Inspector and Fuels Technical Trainer. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic (313A Journeyperson) and Construction and Maintenance Electrician (309A Journeyperson). John has also taught refrigeration and gas fitting at Fanshawe and Conestoga Colleges.
Chris is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and Vehicle Fire Investigator. Over the course of his professional career he has attended over 350 fires, conducting numerous experiments to determine the validity of hypotheses relevant to each investigation. Chris also has a background in forensic anthropology and human osteology, and has assisted in the identification and analyses of excavated remains, and led teams in the recovery of partial human remains in total burn situations.
Mike is Fuels Specialist and Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator. He has over 45 years of experience in the fuels industry, including 18 years investigating various fuel applications, incendiary fires suspected to have a fuel involvement, as well as suspicious fires, fire fatalities and gaseous explosions. These investigations include the determination of the area of the fire origin, fuels involved and source of ignition. Mike also has experience investigating environmental issues caused by fuels, including major petroleum leaks and pipeline damages. Mike has appeared in court, preparing prosecution packages and presenting findings.
Dinu is a Lead Engineer with more than 30 years experience in the industry, including more than 23 years in Mechanical, Materials, Product, and Equipment Failure Investigations. Dinu has been the lead investigator on more than 2,500 complex and multidisciplinary investigations in those fields for the insurance industry, risk managers, law firms, manufacturing companies, and private clients. Dinu is a Registered Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario, is designated as a Consulting Engineer, and has been qualified as an expert witness in the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Dinu has participated in 23 multi-national projects which resulted in the development of new materials and processes. He has taught at undergraduate and graduate levels on materials science and engineering and on failure analysis, and is an active mentor for engineers in training. Dinu is a member of the American Society for Metals (ASM International), American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP, formerly known as NACE, National Association of Corrosion Engineers). Throughout his career, Dinu has delivered both technical papers and presentations at several international conferences on materials science and engineering.
Dinu’s experience and expertise is in a variety of complex metallic and non-metallic (plastic) materials/mechanical failures, mechanical systems and equipment failures, product liability, corrosion, oil spills, residential and commercial plumbing systems and appliances failures, personal injuries associated with product failures, break and entries, insurance fraud, and sprinkler system failures.
Paul is a licensed Professional Engineer specializing in Mechanical and Materials Engineering with expertise in forensic failure analysis. His skills encompass materials testing, metallurgical sample preparation and microstructure characterization.
With hands-on experience in automotive product design and testing, Paul’s knowledge extends to failures in consumer and industrial products, plumbing systems, automotive components, and issues stemming from corrosion, fatigue, improper installation, and poor material selection.
He is proficient in analysing failures related to metals, polymers, glass, ceramics and composites using analytical tools like XRD, XRF, SEM, EDX, and optical microscopy. Paul has collaborated with insurance companies, law firms and industrial risk management teams. His contribution to the field of materials science and engineering is validated by 25 technical publications and presentations.
Alexa is a Mechanical Engineer, Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator. She has a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master’s degree in mechanical and industrial engineering from the University of Toronto. She has attended and investigated over 300 fire scenes, including over 150 vehicle fires.
Ryan specializes in fire and explosion investigations and has 23 years of experience working for the Calgary Police Service, including three years in the Homicide Unit and three in the Joint Forces Arson Unit. During his tenure with the Police Service, Ryan was awarded the Exemplary Service Medal and earned his CFEI and CVFI designations. To date, Ryan has investigated over 1,200 residential, commercial and vehicle fires and/or explosions and has been utilized by public policing agencies and private insurers to assess/conduct and assist with civil and criminal investigations, both ongoing or under review. Additionally, Ryan works regularly with law firms requiring detailed analysis of fire investigations, both public and private, civil and criminal, and has been designated as an expert witness within the discipline of fire investigation by the Provincial Court of Alberta and the Court of Kings Bench. He is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) and the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI).
Martin is a licensed professional engineer specializing in electrical engineering and fire investigation. With more than 15 years of experience, he has performed over 600 fire investigations as well as electrical failure analyses, site reviews and code consultations. Martin is qualified as an expert witness in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Kevin is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and Fuels Specialist. He has over 18 years of experience in the fuels industry and over 25 years of skilled trades experience as a Licensed, Red Seal Industrial Electrician. Prior to OCI Group, Kevin spent 10 years as Fuels Inspector/Regional Supervisor with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) which is the Provincial fuels Regulator in Ontario. As such, Kevin has in-depth knowledge of fuels related technical codes and regulations. His investigative experience includes industrial, commercial, residential, and agricultural fires. Kevin also has experience with incendiary fires suspected to have a fuel involvement, natural gas pipeline fires, fuel spills and gaseous fuel explosions. Kevin is also a Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator. Kevin has given evidence in Provincial Court.
