John A. Kennedy & Associates

Fire and Explosion Investigation Experts

NFPA 921

Lithium Ion Batteries

R. Meier & P. Kennedy, 2016 Lithium Ion Batteries, Battery Fires, Battery Explosions, Electronics Fires, E-cigarette Fires Since their introduction, there have been many fire and explosion incidents where LI cell or batteries were involved. Sometimes the batteries were the source of ignition and sometime even the source of the fuel. In some cases, however, […]

A Detailed Look at the Necked Vessel Flame Thrower Effect

R. Meier, P. Kennedy, K. Smith, G. Gorbett & P. Powell, 2014 Fire Investigation, Flammable Liquids, Fire Behavior, Necked Vessel Fiame Thrower Effect, In 2013 and 2014 extensive study and laboratory tests were conducted outside the scope of any specific incident or litigation. This data was combined with data collected during case specific research conducted […]

UNDERSTANDING NFPA 921

There’s never been a more controversial document in fire investigation. Read all about the common myths and misunderstandings of NFPA 921 from a company that’s been there from the beginning.  THE MYTHS AND MYSTERIES OF NFPA 921 Patrick M. Kennedy, B.Sc. (Hons.), CFEI, CFPS, MIFireE, ASSE October, 2012 NFPA 921, Fire Codes, Fire Investigation, Fire Litigation, […]

Full-Scale Room Burn Patterns Study.

G. Gorbett, W. Hicks, P. Kennedy & R. Hopkins, 2008 Fire Patterns, Full-scale Testing, Fire Science, Fire Dynamics, Heat and Flame Vectors Key questions to be addressed by the researchburns were: (a) patterns persistence through flashover and full room involvement, (b) reproducibility of patterns geometry in minimal variable testing methods, and (c) reaffirmation of standard […]

A Fire Analysis Tool Revisited – Acoustic Soot Agglomeration in Residential Smoke Alarms.

P. Kennedy, K. Kennedy, G. Gorbett, 2004 Acoustic Soot Agglomeration, Smoke Alarms, Smoke Detector, Fire Investigation, Fire Alarms, This paper produces additional research particularly focusing on the production of acoustic soot agglomeration patterns in both ionization and photo-electric single station residential smoke alarms. Producing new test data, and combining that with previously reported data, this […]

Depth of Calcination Measurement In Fire Origin Analysis

P. Kennedy, K. Kennedy & R. Hopkins, 2003 Fire Patterns, Fire Investigation, Fire Science, Calcination, Fire Investigation Techniques This is a report on a research project into the practical use of measurements of depth of calcination of room-fire exposed gypsum wallboard, under actual fire scene investigation conditions, to discover and illustrate movement and intensity fire […]

Flashpoint and Fire Analysis

P. Kennedy, 1990 Flash Point, Materials Science, Fire Testing, Fire Litigation Many times the flashpoint of an ignitable liquid fuel is a key consideration in fire case litigation. When fuel flammability characteristics become the main issue at the heart of litigation “materials science” comes into play. Few practitioners in the theoretical sciences posses sufficient practical […]

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