In addition to the managing of marketing sales and service, I had the pleasure of doing the forensic engineering for Suntec. This involved any time a product failure was involved in property damage I would go to investigate. I actually did this for them for seven years after I retired. These involved fires, oil leaks, houses frozen due to lack of furnace operation. As my memory recalls them I will cover some of the more memorable ones.
My all-time favorite was a million-dollar fire in Iqaluit which is the capital of Nunavut Canada. It is a lovely spot 35 miles outside the Artic Circle. I was a storage facility owned by a Canadian airline. It started in the middle of the night and destroyed everything. The oil burner involved was sent to Ottawa Canada for the investigation. It was lengthy, and we weren’t finding a lot of reasons for the fire. We finally got to the pump which we made. Everything looked ok, except the elastomers were just charcoal granules still barely held together. The other teams wanted to pull the shaft from the pump. I told them that when we did the elastomers would go away. I took many pictures before allowing them to do it. And yes, when they did the seal disappeared in a cloud of dust.
It was fortunate that I took these pictures. When the initial meeting with the airline took place, which was in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. The other two teams stated their results of the cause of the fire being a failed pump seal. In my presentation i showed pictures of the pump seal which while being totally charred, you could still read the manufactures name on it. We were released from liability by the airline.
I was then asked if i would represent the airline at the hearing in Iqaluit. I agreed, but the defending service company decided to not fight the suit. So, I missed seeing the Northern Lights up close and personal.
Maybe some day.
Jonelle
Awesome story Bill!!