David Bridges is an associate in our Catastrophic Loss Practice Group, focusing on complex civil litigation, including fires, explosions, structural failures, fire protection system failures, product failures and other catastrophic losses and construction-related incidents across the United States. His assignments include forensic investigations of first-property and other catastrophic losses, including fires/explosions involving industrial, commercial and residential facilities.
Prior to joining Meagher & Geer as an associate, David was a Technical Specialist, Fire Scientist with our Catastrophic Loss practice group. David received his JD degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, operating on the southeastern coastal states as a Technical Specialist on behalf of various Meagher & Geer clients. In his undergraduate studies he focused on science, with emphasis on fire protection engineering. He has worked on numerous property loss assignments across the United States, in accordance with his status as an International Association of Arson Investigation Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-CFI). David is also a North Carolina Certified Fire Investigator (CFI).
David also had extensive experience as a fire/arson agent /K-9 handler throughout the southeastern United States. He was also employed by the North Carolina Department of Justice (NCDOJ) within the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI). Further, in addition to the investigation of structure fire/explosions, David has also participated in wildfire “origin and cause” workshops provided by the United States Department of Homeland Security/Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and North Carolina Division of Forest Resources (Kinston, NC).
David has conducted examinations of over 1,000 fires as an investigator. He has been an instructor for more than 36 live training fires. In addition, he has served as an investigator in eight (8) bombing/explosion incidents.
David also serves as an Adjunct Instructor for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and National Fire Academy (NFA). The courses focus on origin and cause investigation, interview and interrogation, and expert witness-courtroom testimony techniques.
Outside the office, David enjoys spending time with his family and listening to bluegrass music.
- University of Cincinnati, M.S., 2006
- University of Maryland, B.S., 2004
- North Carolina Central University School of Law, J.D., 2014
- Glenbrook School of Minden -- Louisiana
- American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM), 2014-Present
- American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association, 2017-Present
- C10: Standard for the Cleaning of Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems
- Fire Analysis Expert Member, 2017-Present
- I10: Standard for the Methodology for the Inspection of Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems
- Fire Analysis Expert Member, 2017-Present
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), 2015-Present
- Property Committee, 2015-Present
- Product Liability Committee, 2015-Present
- Insurance Fraud Committee, 2015-Present
- Subrogation Committee, 2015-Present
- Environmental and Toxic Tort Committee, 2015-Present
- Publication/Magazine Committee, 2015-Present
- Co-Chair, 2016-Present
- Conference Committee, 2015-Present
- Georgia Fire Investigators Association (GFIA), 2016-Present
- Fire Investigators of Florida (FL-IAAI), 2016-Present
- Illinois Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IL-IAAI), 2016-Present
- International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), 2010-Present
- Board of Directors, 2017-Present
- Training & Education (T&E) Committee
- Member, 2012-Present
- Co-Chair, 2017-Present
- International Training Conference (ITC) Committee
- Co-Chair, 2016
- Chair, 2017-present
- Expert Witness Courtroom Testimony (EWCT) Sub-Committee
- Insurance Training and Membership Advisory Sub-Committee
- Minnesota Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (MN-IAAI), 2013-Present
- Training & Education (T&E) Committee, 2016-Present
- National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 2014-Present
- New Jersey Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (NJ-IAAI), 2016-Present
- North Carolina Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (NC-IAAI)
- Training & Education (T&E) Committee, 2008-Present
- Board of Directors-Law Enforcement Representative, 2010-2015
- Expert Witness-Courtroom Testimony Sub-Committee, 2013-Present
- Accelerant Detection K-9 Sub-Committee, 2013-Present
- Life Member, 2015
- Propane Gas Defense Association, 2015-Present
- Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), 2014-Present
- Texas Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (TX-IAAI), 2013-Present
- Life Membership Award, North Carolina Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (NC-IAAI), October 2015
- Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Peace Officer License, May 2014
- International Association of Arson Investigators Certified Instructor (IAAI-CI), August 2013
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wildland Fire Investigation Case Development, January 2013
- International Association of Arson Investigators Certified Fire Investigator (IAAI-CFI), October 2010, October 2015
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination, November 2010
- Fire Investigation Training Services, Inc. Accelerant Detection K-9 Training, December 2008
- North Carolina Criminal Justice Education & Training Standards Commission Criminal Justice Instructor, April 2009
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings, March 2008
- Basic Clandestine Laboratory Safety, 29 CFR 1910.120 and 8 CCR 5192, November 2007
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Post-Blast Investigation, March 2007
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Incident Management System Training, August 2006
- North Carolina Criminal Justice Education & Training Standards Commission Law Enforcement Certification, October 2006
- National Fire Academy (NFA) Fire/Arson Investigation, May 2005
- North Carolina State Fire & Rescue Commission Certified Fire Investigator (CFI), April 2008
- Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute, Firefighter I & II, 2002
- Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute, Fire Officer I, II, 2002
- Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute, Fire Inspector I, II & III, 2002
- Crime scene investigation
- Evidence recognition, preservation and collection
- Fire behavior and combustion
- Fire analysis and investigation
- “A Fire Dynamics Analysis of Compartment Fire Scenarios Involving Electrical Concepts”, In Conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Special Agent Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Brunswick, Georgia, May, 2015
- “Fire Pattern Persistence in the Presence of Positive Pressure Ventilation (PPV)”, In Conjunction with the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute’s Study of the Effectiveness of Fire Service PPV, Northbrook, Illinois, January 2015
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Oct
1,
2016
David Bridges will speak at Claims & Litigation Management Alliance Annual Southwest Property ConferenceMore...
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Oct
19,
2015
David Bridges joins the Claims and Litigation Management AllianceMore...
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May
21,
2018
The Four Corners of Origin Determination: Witness Statements, Fire Patterns, Arc Mapping, & Fire Dynamics, 69th International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), International Training ConferenceMore...