Scott Nesvold, M.S., M.Eng., P.E.
\nCrane Engineering Building Science, USA
\nand
\nKerri Pacholke, MFS, F-ABC
\nCrane Engineering, USA<\/p>\n
Presented at\u00a0International Symposium on Fire Investigation<\/a>, 2012<\/p>\n ABSTRACT<\/p>\n In a recent fire investigation, a vehicle owner claimed an accidental fire had destroyed his vehicle. An\u00a0observant fire investigator, who suspected arson based on the facts of the case, found a small pile of \u201cwhite residue\u201d\u00a0and some other parts in the debris and sent the residue to a lab to be analyzed. Fourier Transform Infrared\u00a0Spectroscopy (FT-IR) was conducted as a presumptive test and revealed the presence of Strontium, a common\u00a0chemical found in road flares. The presence of a high concentration of Strontium was confirmed using a Scanning\u00a0Electron Microscope (SEM) combined with an Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) unit. Based on the\u00a0evidence and this analysis, the residue was confirmed to be from a road flare. The vehicle fire was determined to be\u00a0incendiary based on this analysis.<\/p>\n A test burn was conducted in a furnished condemned house. The house was burned room by room for fire\u00a0investigator training. One fire was ignited in a furnished living room with a red road flare placed at the leg of a\u00a0couch. The room was allowed to burn post-flashover for several minutes. Normal suppression and overhaul was\u00a0performed by the firefighters on the scene. On the following day, a team of fire investigators was asked to\u00a0determine the source of ignition. The flare residue remained and was visible in the area of origin, but was not\u00a0discovered or identified by the team of investigators assigned to that particular room.<\/p>\n The testing required to identify flare residue is not included during standard ignitable liquid residue (ILR) tests.\u00a0Traditional analysis performed on fire debris is for the presence of ILRs which are organic and volatile. Road flare\u00a0residues are solid and inorganic and therefore, are not detectible using these standard examination techniques.<\/p>\n The residue that remains after burning a road flare is a whitish-grey solidified pool. The color and texture of the\u00a0white material blends well with gypsum wallboard or plaster fragments typically found after post-flashover fires or\u00a0fire department overhaul procedures and is therefore easily overlooked. Other components of a road flare may also\u00a0be present including a cap, wooden plug, metal nail, wire legs, a base or possibly the remains of the cardboard tube.<\/p>\n Road flares are widely available for purchase, and are often included in a typical roadside safety kit. This\u00a0widespread availability, high burn temperature (1450 \u00b0C, 2650 \u00b0F) and high heat release rate lends itself as a ready\u00a0ignition source for incendiary fires. Due to the extended burn times of some road flares, they can be used to delay\u00a0the start of an incendiary fire which may allow an alibi to be established.<\/p>\n Historically, minimal research has been performed on the role of road flares in incendiary fires. This research\u00a0investigates the chemical signatures present following a fire that positively identifies the presence of road flare\u00a0residue. It will also evaluate the remaining components and residue and visual burn patterns that occur when road\u00a0flares are placed in proximity to common construction materials (such as gypsum wall board, carpet, plywood\u00a0subfloors, etc.). Finally, it examines the remaining components and residue following vehicle fires.<\/p>\n NFPA 921 requires that the source of ignition, first fuel and the circumstances or conditions which brought them\u00a0together be identified. The purpose of this research is to assist fire investigators in identifying the possible remains\u00a0of a road flare during a fire investigation and explain the methods used to confirm the presence of a road flare\u00a0through FT-IR and SEM-EDS analysis.<\/p>\n Download the complete paper<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scott Nesvold, M.S., M.Eng., P.E. Crane Engineering Building Science, USA and Kerri Pacholke, MFS, F-ABC Crane Engineering, USA Presented at\u00a0International Symposium on Fire Investigation, 2012 ABSTRACT In a recent fire investigation, a vehicle owner claimed an accidental fire had destroyed his vehicle. An\u00a0observant fire investigator, who suspected arson based on the facts of the case, … Continue reading Detecting and Confirming the Presence of Road Flare Residue in Fire Investigations<\/span>