Areas served · Michigan
Forensic Engineering in Detroit
In and around Detroit
What we investigate in Detroit
Vacant structures and an aging pre-war housing stock drive most of the fire and structural losses we evaluate in Detroit, along with flooding that overwhelms the combined sewers and clay-heavy Wayne County soils that move footings. We determine what actually failed, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours with no travel charges.
The conditions we see in Detroit
Detroit carries an unusually old housing stock. Nearly 120,000 standing homes, about 32.8 percent of the current stock, were built before 1939, and the archetype is a 1 to 1.5 story brick single-family house, with roughly 56 percent brick-clad. A large share of that stock has sat vacant, blighted, or abandoned, which is the central driver of the city's structure-fire and arson exposure. Foundations are typically full basements on clay-heavy Wayne County soils that swell when wet and shrink when dry.
Water arrives from two directions. The Michigan Residential Code sets footings at least 42 inches below grade for frost protection, reflecting deep seasonal frost and freeze-thaw cycling. Above that, the combined sewer system is designed for only about 3 inches of rain in 24 hours: on June 25 to 26, 2021 the NWS recorded around 5 inches across Detroit with localized totals near 8 inches, closing freeways including I-94. It was the second catastrophic urban flood in under a decade, after the August 2014 event.
How we help in Detroit
The evaluations Detroit cases usually call for
- Foundation, frost, and masonry evaluation
Cracked brick, a bowed basement wall, or a heaved slab in Detroit can trace to clay-heavy Wayne County soil, deep frost past the 42-inch footing depth, water intrusion, or a construction defect, and old brick fails differently than newer framing. Our licensed engineers read the structure and the ground behavior together and document which one caused the damage.
Our structural engineering services- Flood and water loss investigation
When rainfall overwhelms the combined sewers or a basement backs up, we determine whether the damage came from the flood event, a pre-existing condition, or a construction defect. Much of the structural evidence remains after the water drops, and we ground each finding in the physical evidence rather than assumption.
Our forensic engineering services
Fire origin & cause
Fire origin and cause in Detroit
Detroit's fire problem is tied to its vacant and abandoned buildings. Analyses of thousands of suspicious fires here found roughly two-thirds occurred in vacant or abandoned properties, a rate far above the fires ruled accidental. Set fires in blighted structures, aging wiring in pre-1940 housing, and heating and space-heater fires through the long cold season all leave a scene that is rarely obvious in the debris, and the answer drives the claim or the case.
Our NAFI-certified investigators work to NFPA 921. They examine the scene systematically, trace burn and char patterns back to the area of origin, evaluate the electrical, heating, and mechanical systems, and rule out causes until the evidence supports one, accidental or incendiary. Reaching the scene early preserves evidence that weather and overhaul erase, and the same investigator documents the finding and testifies to it at deposition and trial.
Fires we investigate
- Residential and commercial fires
- Vacant and abandoned-building fires
- Arson and incendiary fires
- Electrical and aging-wiring fires
- Heating-system and space-heater fires
Common questions
Forensic engineering in Detroit, Michigan
A different question about your case? An engineer, not a call center, answers within 24 hours.
Are most Detroit structure fires in vacant buildings?
A large share are. Analyses of suspicious fires in Detroit found roughly two-thirds occurred in vacant or abandoned properties, so distinguishing an incendiary set fire from an accidental cause is often the central question, and we resolve it on the physical evidence.
Is foundation movement in Detroit from frost or from the soil?
It can be either, and often both. Deep seasonal frost, reflected in the 42-inch footing depth, heaves footings, and the clay-heavy Wayne County soils swell wet and shrink dry. We evaluate the damage pattern and the site conditions to determine the cause rather than assume it.
Do you charge travel to reach Detroit?
No. We work Detroit-area cases from our Omaha lab and Los Angeles office with no travel charges, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours.
Have a loss that needs answers?
Tell us what happened. An engineer, not a call center, will review your case.