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| Patrick Kennedy |
| Principal Expert |
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With more than forty-five years of experience, Pat Kennedy is the senior-most active fire analyst. |
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| Our History |
| From the beginning... |
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Since our beginning in 1955, JAK&A has been the leader in fire investigations. |
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The experts of John A. Kennedy & Associates have conducted more than five thousand fire and explosion incident investigations throughout the United States and the world.
Among these cases are some of the largest and most noteworthy fire losses in recent history, including:
Our Lady of Angels School, Chicago, Illinois, 1958
One of the most tragic fires in American history occurred on Dec. 1, 1958. A daytime fire consumed Our Lady of the Angels Grade School on the West Side of Chicago, killing 92 children and three nuns. Kennedy and Associates was hired by the Archdiocese of Chicago to determine the origin, cause and responsibility for the fire and deaths.
McCormick Place Exposition Center, Chicago, Illinois, 1967
Back in the dead of winter 1967, McCormick Place burned down overnight before the opening of the International Housewares Show. The blaze is legendary in Chicago history because it was the biggest local conflagration other than the Great Fire of 1871. Touted as being virtually fireproof, McCormick Place was over 1000 feet long and more than 400 feet wide, as big as the Empire State Building laid on its side. Its exhibition space was larger than six football fields. Kennedy and Associates was hired by defense interests to investigate the fire.
Beverly Hills Supper Club, Southgate, Kentucky, 1977
The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky is the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977, during the Memorial Day weekend. In the blaze, 165 people died and over 200 were injured. Kennedy and Associates was hired by the State of Kentucky to investigate the responsibility of the State Fire Marshal's office in conducting pre-fire fire safety and code inspections.
MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1980
This fire resulted in the deaths of 85 people, injuries to approximately 600, and more than $300 million in damages. Kennedy and Associates was hired by the plaintiff's legal committee.
DuPont Plaza Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1986
A devastating fire on December 31, 1986 was intentionally set by three employees. The fire originated on corrugated cardboard cartons of furniture, containing mainly dressers composed of particleboard and wood, stored in the south ballroom. The fire rapidly broke out of this space and swept through the lobby and casino areas. As a result of this fire, 97 people died in less than 12 minutes. The litigation surrounding the fire was, at the time, the largest civil litigation case in U.S. history with over 2000 plaintiffs, 250 defendants and more than $2 billion in claims. Kennedy and Associates was hired by the plaintiff's legal committee. Eventually the hotel management and most of the other defendants in the civil case settled with the plaintiffs.
Branch Davidian Compound, Waco, Texas, 1993
Kennedy and Associates was hired by attorneys for plaintiff's to investigate the fire and to testify by deposition and in trial in the civil suit brought by the plaintiff's against federal agencies and officials over the wrongful deaths.
...From a Dallas Morning News article by Lee Hancock, published March 2, 2000
"Hours after a federal prosecutor cautioned the FBI about the need for fire trucks at the Branch Davidian compound, the bureau's Waco commanders sent a message to Washington saying they wouldn't even try to fight any blaze that might break out.
"Lawyers for the Branch Davidians on Wednesday also released their own arson experts' report on the fire that consumed the Branch Davidian compound within hours after the FBI tear gas assault began on April 19, 1993. That report, by Chicago-based fire investigator Patrick Kennedy, stated that adequate firefighting equipment could have been obtained for the siege and would have saved many lives. More than 80 Branch Davidians died in the fire that ended the 51-day standoff. 'If the fire had been extinguished in its early stages, there probably would have been little, if any, loss of life,' Mr. Kennedy's report stated."
Chateau du Triomphe, Dallas, Texas, 2004
The world's largest single family house fire (70,000 square feet under roof, $50,000,000 loss) occurred on July 12, 2002. Kennedy and Associates was hired by attorneys for the property owner to manage the overall investigations of interested parties and potential defendants, as well as to determine the origin, cause and responsibility for the loss.
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