Gas / Vapor (Explosions, Intrusions…) Expert Witnesses: 9

Henry W. Stormer, IAAI-CFI(V), CFPS, is the President / National Manager for VERTEX FIRE INVESTIGATIONS LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The VERTEX COMPANIES LLC. His responsibilities include management of a forensic fire investigation team conducting Fire Origin and Cause Investigations nationwide for the insurance industry.

Mr. Stormer has over 37 years of experience investigating in excess of 2,300 fires and explosions both in the public (25 years) and private sectors (12 years). He is a Certified Fire Investigator through the IAAI and a Certified Public Fire and Life Safety Instructor, with both certifications recognized by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications. He is also a Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the NFPA.

Litigation Support - Mr. Stormer has served as an expert witness and is actively engaged in several legal cases related to property damage, product liability, personal injury, and criminal activity. Mr. Stormer's legal support activities have included depositions, interrogatories, mediation, arbitration, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Mr. Stormer is currently licensed as a Private Investigator, Manager in: AL, CT, DE, FL, IN, KY, MD, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, SC, TX, VT, WV with reciprocal licensing in: AL, CA, GA, LA, NC, TN and VA.

Dale Wheeler is licensed in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering, and is certified in Basic Code Enforcement / Building Inspection by the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA). He is published on fire safety in Atrium Buildings and in Exhibition Halls. Mr. Wheeler's Areas of Expertise include:

• Fire Protection System Design, installation and operation:
  - Fire detection
  - Smoke detection
  - Fire alarm
  - Central Station
  - Sprinkler systems
  - Fire suppression systems
  - Smoke control
• Fire and Smoke Barriers
• Building Code, Life Safety Code, and Fire Code Compliance
• Fire Hazard, Building Materials, Fire Resistance Ratings
• Fire Cause and Origin
• Arson
• Means of egress, egress signage, emergency lighting
• Forensic Fire and Fire Systems Investigation

John R. Storm offers a rare combination of Executive Fire Command Experience, Paramedic Clinical Expertise, and Municipal Policy Insight, enabling him to evaluate cases from both operational and administrative perspectives. With 30 years in the fire service, including 25 years as a paramedic and service as a chief-level officer, he has firsthand experience with the decisions, policies, and actions often examined in litigation.

Litigation Support - Mr. Storm provides expert analysis and testimony in matters involving fire department operations and incident command, EMS standard of care and prehospital treatment, NFPA compliance and training adequacy, 911 dispatch and emergency communications, and municipal liability.

Attorneys retain Mr. Storm for his ability to translate complex standards into clear, persuasive opinions and testimony while providing objective, standards-based analysis grounded in decades of hands-on experience. He has been retained four times in the past month on cases involving fire origin and cause, fireground operations, EMS standard of care, patient care duties, and documentation practices.

Areas of Expertise: 

Mr. Storm's background spans command, training, compliance, and governance. He has commanded emergency incidents, supervised fireground operations, developed and enforced policies and training programs, conducted internal investigations, evaluated personnel performance, overseen EMS delivery and quality assurance, managed 911 communications, and coordinated multi-agency and large-scale incidents.

In addition, his work in executive recruiting and municipal consulting provides valuable insight into hiring practices, leadership expectations, and organizational liability. This strengthens his ability to analyze claims involving failure to train, supervision, and policy deficiencies.

He is currently completing a Master of Legal Studies at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, further enhancing his ability to align technical expertise with legal standards and evidentiary requirements.

Roger W. Griffith, P.E. is a professional Mechanical Engineer with over 40 years of experience in designing, maintaining, and operating mechanical systems (Plumbing, HVAC, and Fire Sprinkler Systems). As the principal of Griffith Engineering & Consulting for 23 years, his design experience with commercial and industrial projects includes convention centers, schools, office buildings, condominiums, apartment buildings, hotels, manufacturing facilities, medical buildings, restaurants, dormitories, fire halls, and maintenance facilities.

Litigation Support - Since 2002, Mr. Griffith has provided thorough, credible, and timely forensic engineering, consulting, and expert witness services. He also assists clients through the mediation and arbitration process. His expert testimony is based upon independent and impartial investigation, research, analysis, and testing. His services include written reports and the preparation of exhibits. Mr. Griffith's expertise is available to plaintiffs and defendants on the issues of plumbing, mechanical, and fire sprinkler system defects and failures. 

His specific areas of expertise include hot water scalding, carbon monoxide poisoning, and legionella. Mr. Griffith has served on numerous codes and standards committees related to areas, including the NFPA 54 Fuel Gas Code, the ASSE Scalding Awareness Task Group, the Uniform Codes' Legionella Task Groups, and the ICC Plumbing/Mechanical/Fuel Gas Code Action Committee. 

He is a Professional Engineer in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Areas of Expertise:

View Roger W. Griffith's Consulting Profile.

JOHN A. WILLIAMS, PhD, PE, ASA, MBA, CFEI, AIChE Fellow

Dr. Williams is an International Engineering and Energy Technology Expert in the engineering analysis and financial appraisals of energy, power, and manufacturing technologies, related intellectual property (patents, trade secrets, trademarks), licensing, royalty structures, market analysis, infringement, contract breach, fraud, compensatory, taxation, and lost profit damages. Dr. Williams provides engineering analysis, forensics, financial appraisals, and quantification of economic damages for oil & gas production, solar, wind, manufacturing, oil refining, chemicals, power generation, electrical distribution, steam, RNG biogas, biomass, ethanol, biodiesel, bioprocessing, food ingredients, geothermal, coal, nuclear, steelmaking, glassmaking, storage, pipelines, water treatment, and waste-to-energy technologies, equipment, construction, and facilities.

With over 40 years of industry experience in operations, R&D, cost estimating, finance, and construction (EPC, EPCM), Dr. Williams offers a unique synergy of engineering expertise and business acumen. His exceptional ability to analyze complex technical and financial matters and express them in understandable terms has made him a sought-after expert witness in litigation risk and exposure, dispute resolution and high-stakes litigation.

Dr. Williams has led EPS, a full-service engineering firm, since 1995. Since 1996, he has been recognized by AIChE, ASME, and ASA for developing and instructing courses in technology development, project management, cost engineering, financial evaluation methods, and financial appraisals of technologies and intellectual property. His credentials include:

• Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) by the American Society of Appraisers in Machinery & Technical Specialties: Energy, Environmental, and Manufacturing Technologies.
• Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) by the National Association of Fire Investigators.
• Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
• PhD in Chemical and Fuels Engineering from the University of Utah
• MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago
• BS in Chemistry from the University of Delaware
• Licensed Professional Engineer in over 20 states

Paul Eason is a Licensed Professional Engineer, Nationally Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator and Forensic Consultant. His expertise comes from a strong background in industry and academia. In addition to his consulting practice, he is a professor in the School of Engineering at the University of North Florida, and maintains a graduate faculty appointment in the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Florida. 

Dr. Eason has testified in numerous trials and depositions in the following practice areas: 

Product Design & Manufacturing Analysis - Metallurgy & Materials - Fire & Explosions - Industrial Accidents 

Areas of Expertise: Product Liability and Materials Failure Analysis, Product Defect & Safety Issues including: Metals, Plastics, Glass, Ceramics, Corrosion, Fatigue, Overload & Material Selection 

Fire and Explosion Analysis including: cause and origin determination, product related fire causation, industrial process accidents, dust explosions, welding / brazing accidents

Degreed and Licensed Engineer (PE) of Fire Protection Engineering plus specialized expertise in Building Construction Codes and ASIS Board Certified in Security.

Executive leader in the A/E/C industry - Expert in building codes, setting risk-reduction strategies, balancing safety with security, and managing complex programs including "surgical" engineering problem-solving for complex multi-disciplinary legal issues.

Creator & Host of the "FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERING PODCAST" on Blubrry, Apple & Spotify Podcasts

https://podcast.show/fpe

My career was founded on designing systems ranging from Wet-Pipe Sprinkler and Speaker/Strobe Notification to advanced Gaseous Suppression and Video Image Smoke Detection for fire protection; or Access Control and Intrusion Detection to Intelligent Video Analytics and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) for security. Expert Witness and Forensics expertise includes:

• Fire Protection Engineering
• Building Codes & Standards
• Determination of Origin & Cause
• Heat Transfer & Fire Spread Analysis
• Hazmat/Explosion
• Life Safety & Property Loss from all emergencies
• Physical & Technical Security Systems Breaches
• Life-Threatening System Failures or Inadequacies
• Accident & Safety Incident Re-creation

Gregory J. Cahanin, CP works in the Fire Protection Engineering field. Over 40 years of experience in the application of sound engineering principles work to produce results in litigation cases. He is nationally recognized as a Life Safety and Fire Protection expert. He performs fire origin and cause, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, kitchen suppression, fire wall and compartmentation failures, and slip and fall forensic investigations.

Gregory J. Cahanin Fire & Code Consulting has been based in St. Petersburg, FL for over 25 years.

Background - Mr. Cahanin served as a Senior Life Safety Engineer with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the organization that writes Fire Protection Codes and Standards. He was staff liaison for building construction standards and the Fire Prevention Code. Special project work included support of the International Division of NFPA in a survey of fire protection for all oil production facilities of LaGoven SA in Venezuela; an evaluation of the existing airport terminal in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; and a code comparison study for the National Institute of Building Sciences. Mr. Cahanin investigated multiple fatality fires for NFPA and his reports are nationally published and peer reviewed. Mr. Cahanin holds Professional Grade Membership in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. Mr. Cahanin has earned three undergraduate degrees in Fire Science and Fire Protection and a Master in Public Administration.

Litigation Support - Mr. Cahanin regularly testifies in fire cases offering opinions on the origin and cause of fires in addition to component failures in construction, fire sprinkler systems, kitchen suppression systems and product failures. He is nationally published on fire protection requirements in the building code as a contributing editor on the 2006 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) Commentary where he edited the sections on fire-resistance rated construction. He currently serves on code committees with both the NFPA and ICC. Mr. Cahanin holds a NALA paralegal certification and is well versed in Civil Procedure, interrogatory, expert report writing, and trial procedures. 

Mr. Cahanin meets the professional qualifications of NFPA 1033, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator as documented in a Florida Declaratory Statement held by no other fire expert in the state of Florida. Investigations of note include the Warwick. R.I. Station Nightclub Fire in 2003 with 100 fatalities. In Wyatt v. Security Alarms Co., Inc. key testimony on the failure of a Viking automatic fire sprinkler established a product liability that resulted in a $1.4M dollar jury award for Wyatt in Oklahoma. Mr. Cahanin's services are available to plaintiff and defendant attorneys. Case work can include site investigation, materials testing, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

View Cahanin Fire & Code's Consulting Profile.

Experienced in Fire Cause and Origin, Arson Prosecution and Defense, Product Subrogation, Fire and Building Codes, Life Safety Codes, Fire Injuries and Fatalities, as well as Fire Department Operations and Management. 

John Michael Agosti & Associates provides assistance to insurance companies, attorneys and other agencies in the determination of cause and origin in fires and explosions. Our goal is to provide independent and articulate findings to you the client, quickly and accurately. 

With over 28 years of fire department experience and 15 years in the private sector, Mr. Agosti has completed over two thousand investigations of fires, explosions, and life safety incidents. He has testified in both federal and state courts for both plaintiff and defense clients.