|
Abstract
|
This review covers research in the areas of fire debris analysis and fire investigations since the 19th International Forensic Science Managers Symposium in 2019. The literature includes forensic and fire-related articles, standards, and books published since 2019 to complete the previous review by Stauffer in 2016 [1].
In 2020, the United States was not only faced with a pandemic but also with several months of intense civil unrest. The country saw an uptick in violence that primarily manifested itself in the form of property destruction through the use of fire. Incendiary devices (i.e., Molotov Cocktails) were the easiest and quickest way to cause mayhem and burned everything from churches to monuments to police stations. Fire investigators relied heavily on social media and surveillance cameras to catch the perpetrators, but much of the evidence was still submitted to forensic laboratories to analyze for ignitable liquids, fingerprints, and DNA. With the availability of materials needed to make Molotov Cocktails, these have been and will undoubtedly continue to be the “weapon” of choice in riots and general criminal mischief.
There are numerous articles discussing practical applications in the field of ignitable liquid analysis; however, research is dominated by the use of statistics and modeling with simulated data in an effort to remove bias in interpreting results. Bias is also a concern for fire investigators, although many of the papers simply state issues to be aware of and not research results. Other areas of interest in the laboratory include two-dimensional gas chromatography and recovery of fingerprints and DNA following heat exposure. The pathology of burned remains and the challenges posed in determining cause and manner of death have also been thoroughly investigated.
Publications concerning laboratory studies far outnumber those specifically for fire scenes and investigators. While there are entire journals and conference proceedings devoted to the study of fire and its effects on materials and safety, only those articles most relevant to the field of forensic fire investigations were selected for this paper. Other topics of interest relate to fire research, including fire modeling, liquids, furniture, and lithium-ion batteries, as well as scene contamination, ignitable liquid detection canines, and a brief summary on papers dealing with the psychology and behavior motivations of arsonists ...
Language: en |