O'Neill Associates
Fire Investigation, Special Investigations, Loss Evaluations, Explosion Investigation, & More
About Us
Fire and Explosion Investigations Since 1984
O’Neill Associates was founded in January 1984 by Richard O’Neill to provide professional fire and explosion investigation services to the insurance industry, legal profession, and product manufacturers. From its inception, the firm has focused on delivering technically sound investigations supported by thorough scene examinations, detailed analysis, and professional reporting.
Over the years, the services offered by the firm have grown to include code analysis, commercial cookline failure analysis, and the evaluation of related fire suppression equipment. The firm continues to emphasize ongoing professional training and education to ensure its investigators remain current with industry standards and investigative methodologies.
In 1996, Brian Canova joined O’Neill Associates and helped expand the firm’s technical capabilities. In 2005, he became a partner at the firm.
Following more than four decades of leadership, founder Richard O’Neill has retired, and ownership of O’Neill Associates has transitioned to Brian Canova. Under his leadership, the firm continues to build upon the strong reputation established since 1984 while maintaining its commitment to providing reliable, technically defensible fire and explosion investigation services to its clients.
Our Experts
Our experts are highly skilled and experienced and represent a wide range of expertise. Your assigned expert or team of experts possess the most relevant experience needed to thoroughly service each assignment.
Brian Canova
Brian Canova has over twenty-five years of fire and explosion investigation experience in both the public and private sectors. He began his career as a firefighter with the City of Paterson, New Jersey Fire Department. He was later promoted to the rank of Captain and reassigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau as the supervisor for the Fire Investigation Unit.
In his twenty-five plus years as an Investigator, he has investigated over 2,500 fires and explosions.
He has attended and continues to attend numerous fire and explosion investigation training courses and seminars.
Through the National Association of Fire Investigators, he is a certified Fire and Explosion Investigator. Additionally, he is a certified Evidence Collection Technician through the International Association of Arson Investigators.
For over thirty-years, he has been licensed and certified through the State of New Jersey as a Construction Official, Fire Subcode Official, and a Fire Official and is fluent in Building and Fire Code areas.
He is certified by Fire Protection Certification, Ltd for the service and maintenance as per the NFPA Standards and UL Listings for Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems manufactured by Amerex, Ansul, Kidde, Range Guard, Pyro Chem, Protex, and Buckeye.
Dave Kircher
David Kircher joined the fire service in 1975 as a volunteer firefighter in Livingston, NJ. In 1979 he was appointed as a career firefighter in the City of East Orange, NJ. In 1981 Mr. Kircher was assigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau where he became a member of the East Orange Fire/Police Arson Squad and was appointed to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (BATFE) Arson Task Force in the City of Newark, NJ. In 1989, Mr. Kircher joined the staff of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and was assigned to the Arson Task Force.
David Kircher has over forty years of fire investigation experience in both the public (fire service & law enforcement) and private sectors. During that time Mr. Kircher has investigated over 3,275 incidents involving fires and/or explosions. Mr. Kircher has received numerous awards for his achievements in the field of Fire & Arson Investigation including the International Association of Arson Investigator’s (IAAI) Investigator of the Year Award in 1993.
Mr. Kircher has attended numerous fire investigation related schools and seminars including the BATFE’s Advanced Arson Investigation Techniques Training School at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Brunswick, GA, and the National Fire Academy at the Federal Emergency Training Center (FETC) in Emittsburg, Maryland. Mr. Kircher holds the IAAI Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) and Evidence Collection (ECT) credentials. Mr. Kircher also holds the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI) Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) credential. Mr. Kircher has also attended the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Materials Incident Response Operations (40hrs) through the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, The U.S. Department of Justice WMD First Responder Course (COBRA) at Anniston, Alabama, and the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training’s (NCBRT) Advanced Forensic Investigations for Hazardous Environments.
Mr. Kircher has Lectured at the international level on numerous fire investigation related topics. Mr. Kircher co-authored the first training module on the IAAI’s CFITrainer.net website titled Fire Investigator Safety. Mr. Kircher is also a New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Academy Staff instructor on the subject of arson investigation.
Chris Ricciardi
Chris Ricciardi has over thirty years of fire investigation experience in both the public and private sectors. Mr. Ricciardi began his career as a firefighter with the Paterson, New Jersey Fire Department. He was later promoted to the rank of Captain and reassigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau as a Fire Investigator. During his tenure at the Fire Prevention Bureau, Mr. Ricciardi initiated and managed the computerization of the Fire Department’s record keeping operations, supervised seven fire investigators, and rose to the rank of Battalion Chief, serving as the Fire Official for the City.
Mr. Ricciardi has attended numerous fire and explosion investigation training classes and seminars, including those provided by the National Fire Academy, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He has been certified as an Evidence Collection Technician by the International Association of Arson Investigators, and as a Fire and Explosion Investigator by the National Association of Fire Investigators.
Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson joined the fire service in 1991 as a volunteer firefighter. In 2003 he was hired as a fire prevention specialist in the City of Paterson, New Jersey. In 2004 he was appointed as a career firefighter in the City of Paterson. He is currently assigned to the Fire Investigation Unit in the City of Paterson where he is serving as a fire & explosion investigator.
Mr. Wilson has fire & explosion investigation experience in both the public and private sectors. He has attended numerous fire & explosion investigation related schools and seminars including the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosions Advanced Origin & Cause/ Courtroom Testimony class at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research (NCETR) in Huntsville, Alabama, and the National Fire Academy at the Federal Emergency Training Center (FETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Mr. Wilson is a certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) and a certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI) through the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI). Additionally, he obtained the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) Certified Fire Investigator (CFI), Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator and Evidence Collection (ECT) credentials. He is also certified through the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety as a Level II Fire Service Instructor and Fire Official, and is fluent in fire code related issues.
Mr. Wilson is a member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators where he is a North Region Director. Additionally, he provides instruction on various fire investigation topics for their 80-hour basic fire investigator class.
Michael Scherer
Michael Scherer supervised the City of Paterson Fire Investigation Unit as the Fire Investigative Captain. He oversaw investigations relating to all fires, explosions, hazardous material releases or incidents, bomb threats, hoax, or suspicious packages, burn injuries, fire fatalities and homicides. Mr. Scherer has trained with ATF CFI’s at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research (NCETR) in Huntsville, Alabama, and worked with the ATF on a National Response Team incident.
Michael Scherer is a certified Fire Investigator (CFI) & Evidence Collection Technician (ECT) by the International Association of Arson Investigators. He is certified as a Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) by the National Association of Fire Investigators. Mr. Scherer is an Associate Director of Training and Education for the International Association of Arson Investigators New Jersey Chapter.
Michael Scherer is currently a Battalion Chief for the City of Paterson Fire Department. Mr. Scherer is certified through the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety as a Level II Fire Service Instructor. He has worked for the City of Paterson Fire Department for over 17 years. Mr. Scherer has served as a Special Operations Rescue Captain and is part of the Urban Area Security Initiative, Metro USAR Strike Team.
Michael Scherer holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College. Mr. Scherer is also Certified as an Master Underwater Criminal Investigator, Crime Scene Investigator, Evidence Recovery Specialist, Body Recovery Specialist, and Metal Detector Specialist. Additionally, Mr. Scherer has been serving as a volunteer firefighter for approximately 20 years.
Ryan Dullea
Ryan has fifteen years of fire service experience, leading and managing the investigation of fire and explosion incidents in the public and private sectors. He has conducted or supervised investigations into the origin and cause of fires in commercial and residential structures and vehicles. Additionally, he possesses extensive experience in fire suppression, fire ground tactics, fire prevention, and fire scene management. He earned a Master’s Degree in Administrative Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Ryan has held various positions, including firefighter, fire officer, fire department administrator, fire marshal, lead fire investigator, fire academy instructor, adjunct professor, and fire science program coordinator. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators and instructs in the basic fire investigation program.
Ryan has completed the ATF Advanced Origin & Cause Courtroom Testimony Course and holds the following credentials: IAAI-CFI, IAAI-ECT, and NAFI-CFEI. He is also certified by the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety as a Level II Fire Service Instructor and Fire Official. Additionally, he is knowledgeable in fire code and “Retrofit” issues, serving as an instructor for the New Jersey Fire Inspector Program.
Joseph Ramos
Joseph Ramos is a fire service professional with over 20 years of experience as a Firefighter and Fire Investigator with the City of Paterson Fire Department. He currently serves as a Lead Fire Investigator within the department’s Fire Investigation Unit, where he has accumulated more than five years of specialized experience in fire origin and cause investigations. In this role, he has collaborated extensively with local, state, and federal agencies.
A veteran of the United States Air Force, Joseph served six years on active duty. During this time period, he developed a strong foundation in discipline, precision, accountability, and qualities that continue to define his investigative approach and professional standards.
Joseph earned his initial Fire Investigator certification through the State of New Jersey after completing training with the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) New Jersey Chapter. He remains an active member of both the IAAI and the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), demonstrating his ongoing commitment to the profession.
He further advanced his expertise by completing the Fire Investigation Essentials program at the National Fire Academy, earning the designation of IAAI Fire Investigation Technician (IAAI-FIT). Additionally, he holds the Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) credential through NAFI.
Joseph is committed to continuous professional development and routinely engages in advanced training to stay at the forefront of fire science, investigative methodologies, and industry standards.