John is a highly experienced fire investigator who has provided expert testimony in fatal accident inquiries in both criminal and civil Courts. His work has seen him accepted as an expert in the US. 

John started his working life in the military before embarking on a 45-year career in the fire industry. He joined Strathclyde Fire Brigade in 1979 and saw 31 years’ service during which he gained experience, amongst other roles, as an operational firefighter, incident commander and training officer and full time fire investigator.

During his secondment to training, John was responsible for the design and delivery of training programmes to operational firefighters and officers and clients from the private sector. Over a period of about 4 years John also delivered STCW Basic and Advanced firefighting as well as Command and Control training to ship’s crew and officers using a live fire environment.

During the last 13 years of his fire service career, John served as a full-time fire investigation officer where he was involved in the development of the unit’s Modus Operandi. He represented both Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service and the Chief Fire Officers Association (Scotland) at national forums on the development of fire investigation and crime scene standards relevant to that specialism

Following his departure from service, John joined a Forensic investigation company undertaking investigations on land across a wide spectrum of industrial, commercial, residential and transport risks. John contributed regularly to company publications and was published in Maritime Logistics Professional & Maritime Reporter and Engineering News. During this period, John was part of the team that analysed evidence and reported to the Coroner during the Stardust Fire Inquest.  As part of this process, he provided written testimony on the fire service response.

John is also a highly experienced marine fire expert and has given expert testimony and advice as lead investigator in many high-profile cases. He has been engaged as either an origin and cause expert, or a firefighting expert and on some occasions as both.

He has undertaken investigations on behalf of underwriters, charterers, cargo interests and salvors involving a variety of vessels including, container ships, Ro-Pax, PCTC, and cruise ships and tankers.

John has undertaken many specialist training courses in fire and explosion investigation including the Advanced Post Blast Investigation course with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) at Fort AP Hill in Virginia, USA.

John was invited to participate as a member of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) Expert Group on Containership Fire Safety.  He was also part of the CINS Technical Advisory Committee (CINS -TAC) on Fire and Safety, which developed advice and guidance to the maritime sector on the issues surrounding the carriage and emergency response to Lithium-ion batteries.

John is currently appointed to serve on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee for NFPA 310 Code for Safety to Life from Fire on Merchant Vessels.

John also contributed to the development of the now-published judicial primer “Fire Investigation – A Primer for Courts” as a peer reviewer.