A headshot image of Prof. James F. Lygate

Prof. James F. Lygate

BSc, MSc, PhD, FRICS, CEng, FIFireE

Principal Investigator, UK + Ireland

Areas of Expertise

Product Liability
Water Intrusion
Safety Evaluation + Consulting
Fire + Explosion Origin + Cause Investigation
Chemical Analysis of Fire Debris

Scotland

Prof. Lygate’s extensive career has led to his position as the Principal Investigator at Jensen Hughes (formerly IFIC Forensics). He is experienced in conducting forensic investigation into fires and explosions within the fields of Marine, Oil and Gas, Renewables, Residential, Liability, Commercial, Industrial, and Self Heating Chemicals. Prof. Lygate has extensive experience investigating fires on land and on ships of all types including the largest container ships, vehicle carriers and tankers. His particular understanding of ship fires and explosions, has seen him asked to testify as an expert witness in courts around the world.

He has lectured in Fire Safety Engineering at Masters level since 1981 at the Universities of Edinburgh and Paisley. He is a published author of technical papers on fire risk assessment and fire investigation and lectures on the determination of the origin and cause of fires at the University of Edinburgh where he is Visiting Professor of Fire Investigation.

Education / Certifications
  • BSc, Building Economics and Quantity Surveying, Heriot Watt University
  • MSc, Fire Safety Engineering, University of Edinburgh
  • An Evaluation of Different Methods of Hazard Analysis, University of Edinburgh
  • Fellow, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
  • Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council
  • Fellow, Institution of Fire Engineers
  • Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers
  • Member, National Fire Protection Assoc. of America

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