Wood stud wall with varying DOFD char damage, Depth of char contour plot of wood stud wall depicted in Fig. 1980). In 2003, ten full-scale test burns were performed in a ISO 9705 room 12ft by 12ft with 8ft ceiling heights (3.6m3.6m2.4m) with a primary focus on examining television sets and electronic appliances exposed to a full-scale room fire (Hoffmann et al. The square root of height of the opening is the relevant determinant of the max velocity (Babrauskas 1980; Quintiere 1995). NFPA, Quincy, MA, pp 3.1253.133, Quintiere J, McCaffrey B (1980) The Burning of Wood and Plastic Cribs in an Enclosure. Another problem is that the shapes discussed are assuming an idealized fire plume that is shaped as a cone, which is a gross oversimplification. In all cases, ignition of a gasoline spill next to an upholstered chair was used to initiate the fire. 1997; NFPA 2014; Carman 2008). Only one article was identified related to the use of visible char appearance in identifying varying DOFD where quantitative measures were attempted (Keith and Smith 1984). Also, the lines of demarcation are not parallel to the floor, but are at an angle representing the buoyant flow, usually with characteristic geometric shapes. The statistics can be found in the Excel Spreadsheet associated with this review paper. There are hundreds of materials that can be found in residential occupancies, as such there are thousands of studies that would need to be reviewed and summarized here to identify the characteristics of the material properties and the impact that heat has on each material. Drywall repairs, as well as tape and mud between drywall seams or the lack of this material may alter the observations of damage in these areas and will need to be considered. Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Technology Report 828, Heskestad G (2008) Fire Plumes, Flame Height and Air Entrainment. 2009; Gorbett 2010; Gorbett et al. Most of the studies conducted on calcination are limited in their examination of gypsum wallboard variations. The first article (Reference 1) dealt with burn and damage patterns on buildings and . (1997) noted that the effect of ventilation was the one factor least understood and that ventilation-generated patterns were identified to be of great magnitude, sometimes greater than that of the patterns caused by the plume or origin. These studies contended that the use of the heat and flame vector analysis enabled the investigator to determine the true area of origin. As the temperature of the gases in the upper layer increases and the duration of influence between these gases and the lining surfaces increase, the heat flux imposed on these surfaces reaches a critical threshold that begins damaging the material and creating fire effects attributed to the upper gas layer. The cited basis for this pattern is the principles of fluid flow and the buoyant nature of heated gases. Straeter and Crawford (1955) text identified that the point of deepest char in the wood is likely to be the point of origin of the fire. Fire and Arson Investigator Journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators 64(1):3747, Custer R, Wright C (1984) Open Windows and Thermal Inversions may Complicate a Fire Investigation. Fire Science Reviews This change in ventilation is typically done during ventilation-controlled conditions, which causes the HRR to increase within the compartment and results in combustion wherever the mixture of UHCs and oxygen is sufficient and that the mixture be at a sufficient temperature to initiate combustion (Madrzykowski and Kerber 2009; Kerber and Walton 2005). 1977). The average velocity of natural buoyancy driven flows or natural ventilation through the bottom of a door during ventilation-controlled conditions is approximately 1.52.0m/s (3.44.4 mph) (Kerber 2010; Quintiere and McCaffrey 1980). 2013). A clean burn area of damage was located at the area of origin only with the fire with the shortest duration of full room involvement burning. Section 3, Ch. In: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Operations Research. (1997)) contends that the source of available fresh air from adjacent spaces will have a significant influence on whether or not the ventilation-generated patterns are prevalent with such magnitude. As such, fire investigators have written about the use of visible and measurable observations related to varying damage to wood for as long as fire investigation has been in existence (Rethoret 1945). As such, the recognition and identification of lines or areas of demarcation and the elevation changes with those lines of demarcation capture the essence of these shapes without using geometric shapes as universal descriptors. identifiable and related lines of demarcation it is important that the lines of demarcation are objectively verifiable by all experts and that a pattern is something that can be objectively identified without interpretation. In fact, a recent sentinel event analysis of wrongful convictions found that this one misconception is the most common factor in wrongful arson convictions (Bieber 2014). The definition of fire patterns evolved to the visible or measurable physical changes, or identifiable shapes, formed by a fire effect or group of fire effects (NFPA 2008). The following keywords were used for the literature review, including: fire patterns, fire effects, fire investigation, arson investigation, burn patterns and burn indicators. Given these findings, damage cues 1, 2 and 3 are used as the most accurate damage cues for classifying a fire pattern generated by upper layer. magnitude of damage, type of fire effect, color, texture) and are in close proximity to each other. A substantial degree of damage is often times found directly adjacent to or opposite of window and door openings. NFPA 921 is recognized as establishing the standard of care for the fire investigation profession and is the only consensus document that exists for fire investigators. (1997)) and Gorbett et al. \) This relationship points out that there are higher gas temperatures reached in the fuel-controlled burning but the duration of burning is shorter because much of the heat energy is transferred out of the room by the air/fire gas exchange (Drysdale 2011). Wiley, Chichester (UK), Taylor R (1985) Carpet, Wood Floor and Concrete Burn Patterns Often Are Not From Flammable LiquidsAre a highly misunderstood aspect of fire investigation. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigations. 2008). National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (USA), NFPA (2014) NFPA 921-Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. Upper layer gases inside the compartment are driven by density differences due to their higher temperature and lower density. However, if the mud and tape are not present and the compartment transitioned to a ventilation-controlled fire, the damage around these sources of ventilation may be significant (Claflin 2014; Mealy et al. This was the first published work that outlined how to develop a legend and diagram as demonstrative aids for applying the heat and flame vector analysis. Presently, much of this interpretation is implicit and subject to investigator bias, with assignment of interpretation to patterns being largely dependent on the investigators knowledge, experience, education, training and skill, without the benefit of a structured framework to help guide the investigator through the process. 2009). For example, the location of fire department entry, the use of positive pressure ventilation and the change of ventilation upon arrival should result in fire patterns that are similar to ventilation-generated fire patterns. hb```f``g`a`` B@1V u_&I\P ePQQR("rlCl6JM "XyWrf0 & Accessed January 1, 2015, Morgan M, Henrion M (1990) Uncertainty: A Guide to Dealing with Uncertainty in Quantitative Risk and Policy Analysis. There were two windows and one door, where one window was closed and the other open for the fire duration, while the door was opened 5min post-ignition. Mass loss of the furniture items was measured at the end of each test and was showed to relate well to the area of origin. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (USA), NFPA (2008) NFPA 921-Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation. (1997)) reports that a damaged area of great magnitude was identified in the tests done in NISTs Large Fire Research Facility where the ventilation opening to the exterior of the compartment had access to an abundant amount of fresh air. If the burning fuel package was located away from the witness surface, the resulting fire pattern has been characterized as being in the shape of a U, evidenced by its radial or curved lines of demarcation (Hicks et al. However, ventilation becomes one of the more prominent influences of damage when the compartment has transitioned into ventilation-controlled conditions. This can help determine the origin point. 10). He encouraged investigators to focus on low burns, because as he says any low point in a burn should be investigated as a possible origin (Kirk 1969). 2014). Finally, an area that is white in color surrounded by soot areas should not be classified as a clean burn area until closer examination is performed. National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR 822520, Maryland (USA), Stickney (1984) Recognizing Where Arson Exists. 2013). However, the authors did not propose a working prototype. This definition is insufficient compared to how the profession currently uses the term. Thus, a fire investigator must have a solid grasp of the physics and variables that influence a fires development, as well as how these variables may or may not have influenced the damage outcome. curtains). These deviations from normal patterns, as he called them, included areas of open ventilation, secondary ignition of falling material, roof or attic fires, exterior exposure fires and roof collapse. Fire investigators have used geometric shapes, such as truncated cones, triangular, columnar, conical, v-shaped, u-shaped and hourglass-shaped patterns since the early 1940s (Rethoret 1945). Cue 6-sharp/distinct lines of demarcation near or appear to be emanating from the fuel item. :+ ex|8+W0[^gEX%:rUXd$I. The tool used constant force springs to ensure an even, consistent pressure is applied at all times regardless of the user. Fire Safety Science 10:641654, Riahi S, Beyler C, Hartman J (2013) Wall smoke deposition from a hot smoke layer. walls) in the form of a funnel or cone with the vertex at the bottom. Therefore, the fire effect itself may provide a basis for determining what degree of heat flux and/or duration is required to cause the effect. However, others argued that many variables such as the type of wood, variations in burning within the compartment, firefighting operations and orientation of the wood influenced the rate of charring and suggested that investigators only use the locations of greater depths as relative longer exposures to heating that should not necessarily be tied to a duration of burning (Kirk 1969; DeHaan 1983; Ettling, 1990). Arson investigators were surveyed about how they investigate fires and cited interpretation of burn indicators as the most common method of establishing arson. Anderson5146. 13). by 11ft, 9in. Fire Safety Science Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Elsevier Applied Science, New York, pp 657667, Wolfe A, Mealy C, Gottuk D (2009) Fire Dynamics and Forensic Analysis of Limited Ventilation Compartment Fires Volume 1: Experimental. As the gases rise and expand, they also begin to interact with ventilation openings. Ideally, the investigator would be able to look at a materials surface and distinguish the varying DOFD across its surface and this examination would be consistent with the findings of other qualified investigators. There are four logical components to the literature review presented: The first part of the review describes the work completed for establishing a degree of fire damage assessment for commonly encountered materials in structure fires. The direct solutions currently listed for causes of fire patterns include, plume-generated patterns, hot gas layer-generated patterns, ventilation-generated patterns and suppression-generated patterns (NFPA 2014). Alternative explanations are now commonly given when discussing penetrations through floors, including: radiant heat, furniture items, melting plastics and pre-existing openings in the floor during fully involved compartment fire (NFPA 2014) (Fig. Finally, the study was conducted with a variety of digital cameras and they found that the optical properties were not dependent on the camera used. The wall construction was varied between a single sheet of gypsum wallboard with wood framing, a gypsum wallboard front and back with wood framing and gypsum wallboard front and back with fiberglass batt insulation in the voids of the wood framing. Consequently, Kirk can be credited as the first person to describe the damage by a fire as a geometric shape. One aspect of looking at radiant heat flux is to determine if the secondary object has been raised to a critical temperature or is receiving a critical heat flux where ignition of that object is possible. One common type of fire pattern is plume-generated patterns, the lines that come from the three-dimensional shape of the fire plume being cut by an interweaving two-dimensional surface, such as a ceiling or wall. Investigations Institute, Florida (USA), Biedermann A, Taroni F, Delemont O, Semadeni C, Davison A (2004) The evaluation of evidence in the forensic investigation of fire incidents (Part I): an approach using Bayesian networks. Hicks et al. The ventilation opening was located in the wall opposite of this furniture. He contends that damage should just be viewed as data and the investigator must resist the temptation to interpret the meaning of individual fire effects and fire patterns in isolation (Cox 2013). The mixing of the air and UHCs has been shown to occur at the opening, along the gravity flow, around objects within the flow and opposite the opening along walls, specifically for doors (Abib and Jaluria 1992a, b; Quintiere and McCaffrey 1980). 1. The Posey study reported that an investigator could visibly identify subtle color changes in individually cut cross-sections of the wallboard and prescribe the DOFD associated with the color changes. Beginning in March of 2005, a series of 20 full-scale fire pattern tests were conducted at Eastern Kentucky University (Gorbett et al. NFPA (2014) refers to this as fire pattern generation and provides a list of them including plume-generated, ventilation-generated, hot gas layer-generated and suppression-generated. Location and elevation are essentially further describing proximity. These tests produced the first published data that supported fire patterns as being useful in fire investigation. The researchers also concluded that the fire pattern at the true origin persisted in all three tests. 2008; NFPA 2014). As the fire develops, a substantial upper layer begins to Additional comparison and control samples were generated using ignitable liquid pours that achieved post-flashover conditions without use of the burner, but with the burner in place to maintain test consistency. These results support the use of standardized processes to decrease the variability in data collection and interpretation. The researchers stated that one of the objectives of their tests was to determine if burn patterns in the room were consistent with the origin or location of the external fire (Hoffmann et al. As the compartment transitions through flashover and into full-room involvement, the upper layer descends toward the floor and encompasses nearly the entire volume of the compartment. Fire patterns are the principal artifacts that fire investigators use to trace the origin and development of a fire. These tests were not conducted within a compartment. The fire pattern studies revealed that specific damage cues identified during fuel-controlled conditions were not as prevalent during ventilation-controlled conditions. Many of the first texts on fire investigation discussed the concept of low burning and the importance of evaluating the floor for fire patterns (Kennedy 1959; Kirk 1969). Lines of demarcation are the borders defining the differences in certain heat and smoke effects of the fire on various materials. In addition, this study identified that greater damage (clean burn) occurred at the seams between drywall sections within their tests when they were not covered with tape and mud, due to leakage through the unsealed openings. The fire plume is typically the highest temperature zone within the compartment, which can lead to significant damage (Beyler 1986; Lattimer 2008). magnitude of damage, type of fire effect, color, texture) and are in close proximity to each other. Fire research station, Fire Research Note No. Paper presented at the Fire and Materials Conference. Many of the early texts discuss this similarly to Rethoret when he states using the method of tracing the course of the fire and by working backwards, the actual place where the fire originated can usually be determined by the greatest damage (Rethoret 1945). It is suggested from this literature review that the overall reasoning process for evaluating fire damage for determining an area of origin consists of the following seven steps (Gorbett 2015): Identifying the value in further analysis of a surface or compartment; Identification of the varying degrees of fire damage (DOFD) along the surfaces of the compartment and contents; Identifying clusters and trends of damage (fire patterns); Interpreting the causal factors for the generation of the fire patterns; Testing the hypothetical area(s) of origin; and. [1], This developmental curve reflects the progression of intuitive thinking processes as a person develops more advanced knowledge structures in a specific area. Plenary Paper presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigations. These studies focused on fire pattern reproducibility, pattern persistence through flashover, the use of fire patterns in origin determination and the influence of initial, low HRR fuel on fire pattern production. 2003). For more information on this term, see the interFIRE VR Resource File . They confirmed that 6.6lbf (3kgf) of force was best at matching the Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) chemical analysis of dehydration found in the Mann and Putaansuu study (2010). 2010; Mealy et al. Each test fire resulted in damage along the wall opposite of the door opening, progressively greater in magnitude with the longer duration in full-room involvement burning. Their use of this method was stated to ensure that an investigator would be required to provide an indication of the degree of accuracy, as well as provide an area for excavation. Given these findings, damage cues 1, 2 and 4 are used as the most accurate damage cues for classifying a fire pattern generated by ventilation. Identifying processes of using fire patterns in determining an area of origin. Mealy et al. fire effects); Identifying clusters and trends of damage (i.e. Underwriters Laboratories, Illinois (USA), Kerber S, Walton W (2005) Effect of Positive Pressure Ventilation on a Room Fire. Again, Kennedy makes the argument that the investigator needs to identify the greatest area of damage. Proceedings of The 3rd International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods, SFPE, Bethesda, MD (USA), Mealy C (2013) Ignitable Liquid Fuel Fires in Buildings A Study of Fire Dynamics. The characteristics that are proposed here include the type, magnitude, direction and proximity (e.g. The open window was 3ft by 3ft (0.91m0.91m) with a sill of 2ft (0.61m) that was directly across the room from the doorway that was 3ft by 6ft (0.91m1.83m). Building Research Institute of Japan., p 27, Keith, Smith (1984) Analysis of Char Patterns Known as Alligatoring. As vertical and horizontal surfaces intersect this 3-D fire plume, truncated conical shaped patterns have been shown to form (NFPA 2014). National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST GCR 07907, Utiskul Y, Quintiere J (2005) Generalizations on Compartment fires from Small-scale experiments for low ventilation conditions. variables: the material itself, the RHR, fire suppression activities, temperature of the heat source, ventilation, and the length of time of exposure. These findings were reported as only being applicable for pre-flashover fires. 2003). A survey conducted in 2012 reflected similar findings to that of the NCFS survey where 586 fire investigators revealed that 50% had a bachelors degree or higher, of which only 18% were related to science or engineering (Tinsley and Gorbett 2013). An upholstered sofa and upholstered chair were located in adjacent corners across the room from each other with a coffee table in between. Holes in floors have had many misconceptions tied directly to floor patterns, as discussed previously. The most recent example of this failure resulted in the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham by the State of Texas on the basis of an investigation that relied on poor understandings of fire science and investigators that failed to acknowledge or apply the contemporaneous understanding of the limitations of fire indicators (Beyler 2009). This misconception was dispelled in the first edition of NFPA 921 and is not prevalent within the current profession (Bieber 2014). Most investigators in the field do not cut out pieces of the wallboard to visibly identify damage, nor do they perform depth surveys using a depth tool. Cambridge Press, Cambridge (UK), Morvan G, Jolly D, Dupont D, Kubiak P (2007) A Decision Support System for Forensic Entomology., Paper presented at EUROSIM 2007 conference, http://www.forenseek.org/spip/?A-Decision-Support-System-for,46, NFPA (1992) NFPA 921-Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation. Both of these misconceptions have fallen into disrepute and are no longer prevalent within the current profession (Bieber 2014). 2, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 4th edn. 2007; Madrzykowski and Fleischmann 2012). Together these make up the fire triangle. The search for patterns starts at the very widest part of the V or U shape, the outside of the fire's burn path. 1997; NFPA 2014; Gottuk and White 2008). As with anything, there are additional caveats in the identification of plume-generated fire patterns. Cue 4-width of base of damage is approximately the width of the fuel item and not greater than two times the width of the fuel item. As the fire continues to grow, the pattern becomes . Investigators work backward from the outer lines, examining everything in the fire's path for clues to the direction in which the fire was moving. The combustion of a fuel through diffusion flames is inherently oxygen limited by the diffusion reaction and the availability of only 21% of oxygen in air in well-ventilated fires. Given the history of using fire patterns within the fire investigation profession, it was reasonable that they would also be included in the first edition (1992), and all subsequent editions of NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigations. 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