Accident Investigation

Accident Investigation

Independent investigation into fire service equipment failure

Your challenge

Under the punishing conditions of the fire ground fire service equipment can degrade with repeated use. When a piece of equipment fails, it is vital to establish the cause of the failure to ensure that other similar equipment remains safe to use. This is doubly important if the failure results in injuries to fire service personnel.

How we support you

Bureau Veritas provide a comprehensive service whereby accidents and dangerous occurrences relating to the failure of equipment are independently investigated to determine the reason for the failure and to make recommendations regarding how to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Our specialist team offers a comprehensive service covering everything from minor injuries due to failures of personal protective equipment, through to equipment failures resulting in fatalities.

The Bureau Veritas team draws on extensive experience of working alongside fire and rescue services at incidents to provide insight into how the fire service operates and the conditions to which their equipment is exposed. By combining this with our analytical approach to accident investigation our scientific advisers are uniquely placed to carry out detailed accident investigations and make recommendations for improvements to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Our services include:

  • Independent investigation into accidents, dangerous occurrences and faults/failures of fire service equipment including incidents resulting in injuries or fatalities
  • Design of experiments intended to confirm the nature of the failure and reproduce it if possible
  • Assistance in selection of new equipment including design and implementation of testing regimes
  • Participation in failures of air supply (AKA Distress to Wearer) investigations
  • Access to water quality/Legionella testing, air quality testing and asbestos analysis services

Benefits

  • Independent investigation to better understand the causes of equipment failure to reduce risk
  • Network of scientists with extensive experience of working alongside fire and rescue services at incidents