OUR PEOPLE

Jacques De Beer

Ph.D., CFEI

Thermal Sciences

Senior Associate

Bowie

Office: +1-301-291-2544

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Academic Credentials

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 2023
M.S., Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 2020
B.Eng., Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria, South Africa, 2017

Licenses & Certifications

40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER) (FL)
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)

Additional Education & Training

Introduction to Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Smokeview, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Sprinkler Protection for Parking Structures, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Chesapeake Chapter, 2025
Commodity Classification: A Critical Consideration in Automatic Fire Sprinkler System Design, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Investigation Fires in Sprinklered Buildings, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Addressing Warehouse Sprinkler Design and Fire Service Disconnect, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Next-Generation Radiant Energy Detectors – Integration with IoT and AI, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Flame Detectors 101 – Understanding NFPA 72, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Bulk Storage of Battery Products, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Antifreeze for Fire Sprinkler Systems, BlazeMaster, 2025
Design Fire Scenarios for Hazard Assessment of Modern Passenger Vehicles, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Protecting Flammable and Combustible Liquids, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
BlazeMaster Fire Protection Systems Installer Training, BlazeMaster, 2025
Fire Dynamics in the Wildland, CFITrainer.net, 2025
How Should Lithium-ion Batteries that are Not an Energy Storage System be Stored and Handled?, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
AquaMist ULF – Low Pressure Water Mist Systems for Building Protection in Accordance with EN 14972, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2025
Photovoltaic Systems Investigation Training, International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), 2024
Appliance Fires Training, Maryland Fire and Explosion Investigators Association, 2024
Fire Investigation Training Program, National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), 2024
Photovoltaic Cells and Systems, CFITrainer.net, 2024
Residential Electrical Systems, CFITrainer.net, 2024
Site Safety Assessment, CFITrainer.net, 2024
Electrical Safety, CFITrainer.net, 2024
Basic Electricity, CFITrainer.net. 2024
FED Kitchen Suppression System Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance Hands-On Training, 2023
Construction Fire Best Practices, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2023
A Baker’s Dozen – 13 Things You Might Not Know about CPVC Fire Sprinkler Systems, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2023
Critical Evaluation and Testing of Commonly Reported Accidental Causes, CFITrainer.net, 2023
Li-Ion battery Fires, CFITrainer.net, 2023
Wildland Fires Investigation, CFITrainer.net, 2021
Documenting the Event, CFITrainer.net, 2017
Fire Investigator Scene Safety, CFITrainer.net, 2017
Fire Chemistry, CFITrainer.net, 2017
Thermometry, Heat, and Heat Transfer, CFITrainer.net, 2017
Digital Photography and the Fire Investigator, CFITrainer.net, 2016
Ethics and the Fire Investigator, CFITrainer.net, 2016
The Impact of Ventilation in Building Structures on Fire Development, CFITrainer.net, 2016
Understanding Fire Through the Candle Experiments, CFITrainer.net, 2016
Writing the Initial Origin and Cause Report, CFITrainer.net, 2016
The Practical Application of the Relationship Between NFPA 1033 and NFPA 921, 2016
Explosion Dynamics, CFITrainer.net, 2015
NFPA1033 and Your Career, CFITrainer.net, 2015
Arc Mapping Basics, CFITrainer.net, 2014
The Scientific Method for Fire and Explosion Investigation, CFITrainer.net 2013

Professional Honors

Principal Member: NFPA 77, Recommended Practice on Static Electricity, STA-AAA Technical Committee, National Fire Protection Association, 2025 – present
Principal Member: NFPA 1960, Standard for Fire Hose Connections, Spray Nozzles, Manufacturer’s Design of Fire Department Ground Ladders, Fire Hose, and Powered Rescue Tools, FHS-AAA Technical Committee, National Fire Protection Association, 2024 – present
Alternate Member: NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, FLC-FUN Technical Committee on Fundamentals of Flammable and Combustible Liquids, National Fire Protection Association, 2024 – present
Alternate Member: NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code, NFG-AAA Technical Committee, National Fire Protection Association, 2024 – present

Professional Affiliations

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)
National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI)
National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA)

Dr. De Beer is a fire safety expert with multidisciplinary expertise in fire protection, mechanical, and chemical engineering. He applies his expertise to the investigation and prevention of a broad spectrum of thermal and injurious events. Dr. De Beer investigates and analyzes residential, commercial, and industrial fires and explosions and their origin and cause.

Dr. De Beer's fire safety project experience includes fire protection and life safety systems, flammable and combustible liquids, electrostatic discharge incidents, hazardous chemicals, smoke alarms, hot work incidents, wildfires, oxygen-enriched systems, gas distribution systems and fuel-fired equipment, photovoltaic systems, batteries and battery energy storage systems (BESS), electric vehicles, and emergency response planning. Dr. De Beer has experience evaluating the compliance of a myriad of products, materials, processes and systems according to national and international codes and standards — NFPA, ICC, EN, ISO, API, AWS, OSHA, and UL. Dr. De Beer also has experience using fire modeling tools such as Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Consolidated Fire and Smoke Transport (CFAST)

Jacques' recent insights

Mechanical claw hand grabbing pile of mixed waste

Industry Analysis

De Beer, JA, Dee, S, Benetatos, N (2025), Reducing the Burn in Oxygen Delivery Systems Industry Analysis, Exponent, Inc.
Lee, S, De Beer, JA, Stoliarov, S, Sunderland, PB, Gollner MJ, Pyrolysis models for pressure-treated wood and wood-plastic composite, Fire and Materials, 2024, 49:86-101, doi/10.1002/fam.3249
De Beer, JA, Long RT (2024), Making Work Around Flammable & Combustible Liquids Safer, Industry Analysis, Exponent, Inc.
Lauterbach, A, Lee, S, De Beer, JA, Stoliarov, SI, Sunderland, PB, Gollner, MJ, Filkov, AI, Horn, GP. Ignition and Combustion Behavior of Wood-plastic Composite Exposed to Glowing Firebrand Piles: Impact of Air Flow Velocity, Firebrand Coverage Density, and Pile Orientation, Fire Safety Journal, Volume 147, 2024, 104198, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2024.104198.
De Beer, JA, Dietz, EL, Stoliarov, SI, Gollner, MJ, An Empirical Firebrand Pile Heat Flux Model, Fire Safety Journal, 141, 2023, 104004, doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2023.104004.
Filkov, AI, Tihay-Felicelli, V, Masoudvazir, N, Rush, D, Valencia, A, Wang, Y, Blunck, DL, Valero, MM, Kempna, K, Smolka, J, De Beer, JA, Campbell-Lochrie, Z, Centeno, FR, Asim Ibrahim, M, Lemmertz, CK, Tam, WC, A review of thermal exposure and fire spread mechanisms in large outdoor fires and the built environment, Fire Safety Journal, 140, 2023, 103871, doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2023.103871.
De Beer JA, Alascio JA, Stoliarov, SI, Gollner, MJ. Analysis of the Thermal Exposure and Ignition Propensity of a Lignocellulosic Building Material Subjected to a Controlled Deposition of Glowing Firebrands. Fire Safety Journal. 2022. 135, pp. 103720 — 103720, doi:10.1016/j.firesaf.2022.103720.
Wang, Y, Wadhwani, R, Suzuki, S, Theodori, M, Asimakopoulou, E, De Beer JA, Flores, N, Asim Ibrahim, M, Johanna, H, Kempna, K, Manzello, SL, Sharma, A, Smolka, J, Wickramasinghe, A, Wu, AC, Xia, T, Case studies of large outdoor fires involving evacuations Part 2, Emergency Management & Evacuation (EME) Subgroup, Large Outdoor Fires & the Built Environment (LOF&BE) Working Group of the International Association for Fire Safety Science, 2022 July. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6544760.
De Beer JA, Raffan‐Montoya F, Stoliarov SI. A Milligram‐scale Flame Calorimeter Pyrolyzer System used to Emulate Burning of Nonthermally Thin Solid Samples. Fire and Materials. 2021; 46(1) 302 — 312, doi:10.1002/fam.2996.
De Beer JA, Focke WW. Oxidative degradation of polyolefins in the presence of cupric and ferric stearate additives. Macromolecular Symposia. 2019, 384(1), doi:10.1002/masy.201800149.
Presentations
De Beer, JA, Dietz, E, Stoliarov, SI, Gollner, MJ. Development of a Novel Transient Firebrand Pile Heat Flux Model, FM Global CFD Modeling Workshop, 2023.
De Beer, JA, Raffan-Montoya, F, Stoliarov, SI. Novel Design of a Milligram-scale Pyrolyzer system used to Emulate the Burning Behavior Exhibited by Cone Calorimetry-Sized Samples, ACS Fire and Polymers, 2022.
De Beer, JA, Alascio, JA, Stoliarov, SI, Gollner, MJ. Thermal Quantification and Ignition Study of Firebrand Pile-Exposed Wildland-Urban Interface Decking Materials, Eastern States Section of the Combustion Institute, 2022.
De Beer, JA, Alascio, JA, Stoliarov, SI, Gollner, MJ. Thermal Characterization and Ignition Study of Decking Materials Exposed to Firebrand Attack, IAFSS LOF&BE Student Seminar Series (Virtual), 2022.
De Beer, JA, Raffan-Montoya, F, Stoliarov, SI. Design of a Milligram-scale Pyrolyzer System used to Emulate the Burning Behavior Exhibited by Cone Calorimetry Samples, ASTM International Symposium on Obtaining Data for Fire Growth Models, 2021.
De Beer, JA, Alascio, JA, Stoliarov, SI, Gollner, MJ. Thermal Characterization and Ignition Study of Western Red Cedar Exposed to Firebrand Attack. Oral Presentation, 12th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology (Virtual), University of Queensland, Australia, 2021.
De Beer, JA, Raffan-Montoya, F, Stoliarov, SI. Novel Design of a Pyrolyzer System used to Emulate the Burning Behavior Exhibited by Cone Calorimetry-Sized Samples. Annual SFPE Chesapeake Chapter Meeting (Virtual), Maryland, 2021.
De Beer, JA, Raffan-Montoya, F, Stoliarov, SI. Novel Design of a Milligram-scale Flame Calorimetry Pyrolyzer System used to Emulate the Burning Behavior Exhibited by Cone Calorimetry-Sized Samples, 12th U.S. National Combustion Meeting (Virtual), Texas A&M University, Texas, 2021.
De Beer, JA, Raffan-Montoya, F, Stoliarov, SI. Milligram-scale Flame Calorimeter Pyrolyzer System: Emulation of Burning Behavior of Non-thermally Thin Solid Samples. Poster Presentation, 13th International Symposium of Fire Safety Science (Virtual), University of Waterloo, Canada, 2021.
De Beer, JA. Proof of Concept: Thermal Imaging as an Alternative Method for Depth of Calcination Analysis. Poster Presentation, International Association of Arson Investigators International Training Conference, Texas, 2018.

Jacques De Beer

Jacques' recent insights

Mitigating Fires in Recycling Facilities

Thermal Hazards of Using Fire Blankets for EV Fires

FM Approves Its First Oxygen Reduction Fire Suppression System

Reducing the Burn in Oxygen Delivery Systems

Advancing Construction Fire Safety with Pyrolysis Modeling

Publications

Peer Reviews