We are delighted to welcome Principal Associate, John Gow, to our Glasgow office.
With over 45 years of experience in the fire industry, John brings a wealth of knowledge and a distinguished track record in fire investigation and has provided expert testimony in fatal accident inquiries, in both criminal and civil Courts.
John served with Strathclyde Fire Brigade for 30 years, gaining substantial experience as an operational firefighter, incident commander and training officer, and full-time investigator. During his secondment to training, he was responsible for designing and delivering training programmes to operational firefighters, officers, and clients from the private sector. This included delivering STCW (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping) Basic and Advanced Firefighting as well as Command and Control training to a ship’s crew and officers using a live fire environment.
John was also involved in developing the Fire Investigation Unit’s Modus Operandi. He represented both the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue 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 the fire service, John joined a forensic investigation company regularly completing investigations across a wide spectrum of industrial, commercial, residential and transport risks. He contributed to company publications on a variety of topics and in 2023, was published in ‘Maritime Logistics Professional & Maritime Reporter and Engineering News’. During this period, he was part of the team that analysed evidence and reported to the Coroner throughout the Stardust Fire Inquest, relating to the tragic fire in a Dublin nightclub in 1981. Part of this process required him to provide written testimony on the fire service’s response.
John now specialises in marine fires and has given expert testimony and advice as the lead investigator in many high-profile cases. He has undertaken investigations on behalf of underwriters, charterers, cargo interests and salvors involving a variety of vessels including, container ships, Ro-Pax, PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carriers), cruise ships and tankers.
John’s commitment to professional development is evidenced through his participation in numerous specialist training courses in fire and explosion investigation. This includes 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 and was also part of the CINS Technical Advisory Committee (CINS-TAC) on Fire and Safety. He helped develop advice and guidance to the maritime sector on issues surrounding the carriage and emergency response to lithium-ion batteries. John is 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 and has also contributed to the development of the now-published judicial primer ‘Fire Investigation – A Primer for Courts’ as a peer reviewer.
We are delighted to have John on board.
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