Significant changes in computing power, regulatory climate, safety culture and globalization of business ventures have occurred since the original publication of MTI Publication No. 30, Guidelines for Assessing Fire and Explosion Damage. The implications of these changes are reviewed with regard to the work of investigators charged with the analysis of fires, explosions and major production disruption incidents in chemical processing plants and refineries. A review of advances in computer modeling of large-scale energy release events is presented. Storm damage assessment and the analysis of incidents involving sabotage are discussed. (C) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 28: 250-258, 2009