Project 550
Help after a fire
EN

Publications

The investigation exists in several versions addressed to different readers. They rest on the same verified body of evidence and differ in scope, assumed knowledge and intended use.

The books

The investigation exists as three books. They rest on the same verified body of evidence and differ in scope, assumed prior knowledge and intended use.

Cover of the full account: title “Die ungemessene Eigenschaft” on a dark ground.

Full account

The unmeasured property

On the verification gap in the fire safety of electrical household appliances

The complete scientific and normative account in thirty-eight chapters. It follows the chain from the ignition source through the fire load into the structure of the testing and safety standards, with failure mode analysis, responsibility matrix, catalogues of open evidentiary questions and documents to be requested, glossary and index of sources.

For anyone who wants to follow or verify the full chain of evidence.

260 pages

Cover of the professional edition: title “Die Antwort lautet 550” on a dark ground.

Professional edition

The answer is 550

The glow-wire file — how a passed test becomes an open question of evidence

The edition tailored to litigation practice. It leads from the damage pattern to the questions to be asked in proceedings: what property a submitted test report actually supports, which edition of the standards applied at the time of placing on the market, which documents to request and which objections to expect.

For courts, litigators, recourse handlers and experts.

A guide for practice

Cover of the reading edition: title “Per Anhalter durch das Prüfwesen” on a dark ground.

Reading edition

Hitchhiking through the testing system

Why your tumble dryer burns and its certificate knows nothing about it

The account for readers without technical background. It follows the same trail from fire scenes through testing laboratories and court files into standardisation, and explains without the apparatus of standards how sound legal requirements can be devalued in practice by a test that is too mild.

For those affected, journalists and interested readers.

272 pages

Not every passed test proves fire safety.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Axel Opp, publicly appointed and sworn expert for electrical engineering, loss analysis and fire cause investigation.

Details on how to obtain the book and its price will appear here once distribution is in place.

Versions for particular readerships

  • Executive summary for authorities

    The finding, its evidence and the need for action in condensed form, aimed at market surveillance and supervisory bodies.

  • Version for experts

    Test object, measurement series, material assignment and the chain of evidence in a real loss — with the details needed for independent verification.

  • Version for lawyers

    The legal framework verbatim, the chain of manufacturer obligations, scope and limits of certification, and the inference from a fire event to a breach of the standard.

  • Reading version

    For those affected and interested readers without prior knowledge: the chain from defect to building fire, without the apparatus of standards.

Obtaining a copy

The versions are supplied on request. Please state your context — authority, court, insurer, law firm, expert practice or your own loss — so that the appropriate version can be sent.

Request a version

Status and updates

The investigation is being continued. New measurement series, resolved evidentiary questions and responses from authorities are incorporated; resolved points are marked as resolved rather than quietly removed.

Methodology Help after a fire