Practice for Preserving Ignitable Liquids and Ignitable Liquid Residue Extracts from Fire Debris Samples

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Ignitable Liquids ◽  
Fire Debris ◽  
Liquid Residue ◽  
Ignitable Liquid

Fire Investigation and Ignitable Liquid Residue Analysis

2022 ◽  
pp. 91-118
Author(s):  
Sachil Kumar ◽  
Anu Singla ◽  
Ruddhida R. Vidwans
Keyword(s):  
Residue Analysis ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
General View ◽  
Fire Investigation ◽  
Basic Task ◽  
Fire Debris ◽  
Liquid Residue ◽  
Ignitable Liquid ◽  
Fire Scene

A fire investigation is a difficult and challenging task. An investigator's basic task at a fire scene is two-fold: first, to ascertain the origin of the fire and, second, to closely investigate the site of origin and try to determine what triggered a fire to start at or near that spot. Usually, an investigation would begin by attempting to obtain a general view of the site and the fire damage; this may be achieved at ground level or from an elevated location. Following this, one may examine the materials available, the fuel load, and the condition of the debris at different locations. Surprisingly, the science of fire investigation is not stagnant, and each year, more information to assist investigators in determining the location and cause of a fire by diligent observation of the scene and laboratory study of fire debris is released. This chapter is split into two sections. The first section discusses the general procedures to be used during a fire investigation, and the second section discusses laboratory analysis of ignitable liquid residue analysis.

scholarly journals Application of Headspace Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry for the Determination of Ignitable Liquids from Fire Debris

Separations ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Aliaño-González ◽  
Marta Ferreiro-González ◽  
Gerardo Barbero ◽  
Miguel Palma ◽  
Carmelo Barroso
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Ion Mobility Spectrometry ◽  
Ion Mobility ◽  
Headspace Gas Chromatography ◽  
Headspace Gas ◽  
Ignitable Liquids ◽  
Fire Debris ◽  
Ignitable Liquid ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Chemometric Tools

A fast and correct identification of ignitable liquid residues in fire debris investigation is of high importance in forensic research. Advanced fast analytical methods combined with chemometric tools are usually applied for these purposes. In the present study, the Headspace Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) combined with chemometrics is proposed as a promising technique for the identification of ignitable liquid residues in fire debris samples. Fire debris samples were created in the laboratory, according to the Destructive Distillation Method for Burning that is provided by the Bureau of Forensic Fire and Explosives. Four different substrates (pine wood, cork, paper, and cotton sheet) and four ignitable liquids of dissimilar composition (gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and paraffin) were used to create the fire debris. The Total Ion Current (TIC) Chromatogram combined with different chemometric tools (hierarchical cluster analysis and linear discriminant analysis) allowed for a full discrimination between samples that were burned with and without ignitable liquids. Additionally, a good identification (95% correct discrimination) for the specific ignitable liquid residues in the samples was achieved. Based on these results, the chromatographic data from HS-GC-IMS have been demonstrated to be very useful for the identification and discrimination of ignitable liquids residues. The main advantages of this approach vs. traditional methodology are that no sample manipulation or solvent is required; it is also faster, cheaper, and easy to use for routine analyses.

scholarly journals Discrimination of Ignitable Liquid Residues in Burned Petroleum-Derived Substrates by Using HS-MS eNose and Chemometrics

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 801
Author(s):  
Barbara Falatová ◽  
Marta Ferreiro-González ◽  
José Luis P. Calle ◽  
José Ángel Álvarez ◽  
Miguel Palma
Keyword(s):  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Data ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Synthetic Fibers ◽  
Ignitable Liquids ◽  
Fire Debris ◽  
American Society ◽  
Ignitable Liquid

Interpretation of data from fire debris is considered as one of the most challenging steps in fire investigation. Forensic analysts are tasked to identify the presence or absence of ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) which may indicate whether a fire was started deliberately. So far, data analysis is subjected to human interpretation following the American Society for Testing and Materials’ guidelines (ASTM E1618) based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry data. However, different factors such as interfering pyrolysis compounds may hinder the interpretation of data. Some substrates release compounds that are in the range of common ignitable liquids, which interferes with accurate determination of ILRs. The aim of the current research is to investigate whether headspace–mass spectroscopy electronic nose (HS-MS eNose) combined with pattern recognition can be used to classify different ILRs from fire debris samples that contain a complex matrix (petroleum-based substrates or synthetic fibers carpet) that can strongly interfere with their identification. Six different substrates—four petroleum-derived substrates (vinyl, linoleum, polyester, and polyamide carpet), as well as two different materials for comparison purposes (cotton and cork) were used to investigate background interferences. Gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and charcoal starter with kerosene were used as ignitable liquids. In addition, fire debris samples were taken after different elapsed times. A total of 360 fire debris samples were analyzed. The obtained total ion mass spectrum was combined with unsupervised exploratory techniques such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) as well as supervised linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The results from HCA show a strong tendency to group the samples according to the ILs and substrate used, and LDA allowed for a full identification and discrimination of every ILR regardless of the substrate.

scholarly journals Fixed- and Variable-Temperature Kinetic Models to Predict Evaporation of Petroleum Distillates for Fire Debris Applications

Separations ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
John McIlroy ◽  
Ruth Smith ◽  
Victoria McGuffin
Keyword(s):  
Rate Constants ◽  
Evaporation Rate ◽  
Variable Temperature ◽  
Fixed Temperature ◽  
Reference Collection ◽  
Ignitable Liquids ◽  
Petroleum Distillates ◽  
Fire Debris ◽  
Suitable Reference ◽  
Ignitable Liquid

Forensic fire debris analysis focuses on the identification of a foreign ignitable liquid in debris collected from the scene of a suspected intentional fire. Chromatograms of the extracted debris are compared to a suitable reference collection containing chromatograms of unevaporated and evaporated ignitable liquids. However, there is no standardized method for the evaporation of ignitable liquids and the process itself can be time consuming, which limits the number of chromatograms of evaporated liquids included in the reference collection. This work describes the development and application of a variable-temperature kinetic model to predict evaporation rate constants and mathematically predict chromatograms corresponding to evaporated ignitable liquids. First-order evaporation rate constants were calculated for 78 selected compounds in diesel, which were used to develop predictive models of evaporation rates. Fixed-temperature models were developed to predict the rate constants at five temperatures (5, 10, 20, 30, 35 °C), yielding a mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of 10.0%. The variable-temperature model was then created from these data by multiple linear regression, yielding a MAPE of 16.4%. The model was applied to generate a reference collection of predicted chromatograms of diesel and kerosene corresponding to a range of evaporation levels. Using the modeled reference collection, successful identification of the liquid and level of evaporation in a test set of chromatograms was demonstrated.

scholarly journals Application of Self-Organizing Maps to the Analysis of Ignitable Liquid and Substrate Pyrolysis Samples

Separations ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Thurn ◽  
Mary Williams ◽  
Michael Sigman
Keyword(s):  
Standard Test ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Self Organizing Map ◽  
Self Organizing Maps ◽  
Ignitable Liquids ◽  
Fire Debris ◽  
Ignitable Liquid ◽  
Self Organizing

Classification of un-weathered ignitable liquids is a problem that is currently addressed by visual pattern recognition under the guidelines of Standard Test Method for Ignitable Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris Samples by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, ASTM E1618-14. This standard method does not separately address the identification of substrate pyrolysis patterns. This report details the use of a Kohonen self-organizing map coupled with extracted ion spectra to organize ignitable liquids and substrate pyrolysis samples on a two-dimensional map with groupings that correspond to the ASTM-classifications and separate the substrate pyrolysis samples from the ignitable liquids. The component planes give important information regarding the ions from the extracted ion spectra that contribute to the different classes. Some additional insight is gained into grouping of substrate pyrolysis samples based on the nature of the unburned material as a wood or non-wood material. Further subclassification was not apparent from the self-organizing maps (SOM) results.

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