Often, a saddle burn is caused by a burning liquid on the floor or radiant heat from a material close to the floor. Cue 6-increased area and magnitude of damage around gypsum wallboard seams. American Re-Insurance. Attributing a fundamental interpretation to an observation, specifically one that ties the underlying physics to an observation, is a major key to accurately determining the true fire scenario and area of origin. Cue 2-increased magnitude of damage near the fuel item. Consequently, temperatures in the upper layer will also vary based on local variations in this combustion. fire pattern creation stems from the amount of heat flux on a materials surfaceover the duration of the fire.vi,vii,viii,ix Therefore, the fire plume and the various fluxes generated by it are the primary means of pattern production in the early stages of a fire. Particulates and aerosols are deposited and heat is transferred in the same direction and flow as the smoke. The deposition of smoke/soot onto surface linings and contents within an enclosure stems from the following: Fluid flows Temperature and velocity of the gases colliding with cooler surfaces (thermophoretic forces). Such data include the patterns produced by the fire (NFPA 2014). Kirk being one of the few texts at the time that opposed this idea when declaring flammable liquids never carry fire downward (Kirk 1969). Since the beginning of organized fire investigation in the late 1940s, fire investigators have relied on fire patterns as their basis for determining the fire origin (Rethoret 1945). 2006). 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. Correspondingly, this heat source is often attributed to igniting contents throughout the compartment, especially those items located relatively high in elevation around the compartment (e.g. Accessed January 1, 2015, Morgan M, Henrion M (1990) Uncertainty: A Guide to Dealing with Uncertainty in Quantitative Risk and Policy Analysis. There was no significant damage identified around the window ventilation, as the researchers discussed that this vent served primarily as an outflow for the heated gases, while the doorway served as the inflow due to the location of the neutral plane. Department of Justice, USA, Milke J, Hill S (1997) Full-scale room fire experiments conducted at the University of Maryland. The flame plume is also the most predominant contributor to damage and ignition of secondary and tertiary contents early in the fire prior to the contribution by the upper layer (Jahn et al. However, other texts of the time indicated that damage to floor was an indicator of arson (Battle and Weston 1960; Fitch and Porter 1968). Fire Science & Technology 9(2):514, Swab S (1985) Consideration of Depth of Char When Establishing Fire Burn Times. soot), and gaseous byproducts, including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), oxygen (O2), steam (H2O vapor), and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC). Learn. V-patterns, spalling, distorted bulbs, depth of. Generally, these texts encouraged investigators to visibly identify which side of a content item, wall, or structural member may have been more affected by heat. Use of damage in fire investigation: a review of fire patterns analysis, research and future direction, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40038-015-0008-4, http://ncfs.ucf.edu/twgfex/docs/Scene_Survey_Results.pdf, http://www.forenseek.org/spip/?A-Decision-Support-System-for,46, www.Merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pattern, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Arson A fire started deliberately Fire Triangle Info represents the three elements, needed for fire to occur: heat, fuel, and oxygen Fuel + Oxygen + Heat = Fire Fuel Figure 1 is a schematic representation of how such a pattern is created, and Figure 2 shows a triangle-shaped pattern produced by a test fire. 2008; Gorbett et al. Most of the earlier literature supported the idea that specific patterns were indicative of causal links or to the speed of the fire, which was mostly linked to incendiary fires (e.g. Fire and Arson Investigator Journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators 7:1618, Crofton, MD, Straeter R, Crawford C (1955) Techniques of Arson Investigation. Volume I, National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR 802054, Gaithersburg, MD, Raiffa H (1968) Decision Analysis. The damage that would result would be dependent on the location of the origin of the plume and distance to the intersecting obstructions. In 1992, NFPA 921s first edition identified most of these old indicators as misconceptions. 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. 1989; Quintiere 1995). All of the fire pattern studies have been summarized in Additional file 1. Regardless of the terminology used, these fire patterns were used as a means to trace the fire back to the location where it started, the area of origin. This area of damage opposite the door had angled lines of demarcation that extended from the floor to the ceiling. Recording and Statistical Corporation, Canada, Riahi S (2012) Development of Tools for Smoke Residue and Deposition Analysis. Thermocouple data and total heat flux gauges were used as instrumentation for all three burns. Glossary Tag: WFISC PMS412 0 A compartment (3.7m3.7m2.4m) with a single doorway ventilation opening located in the center of a wall was used for this series of tests. The gauge is capable of reading measurements to 0.0005 (0.01mm). Terms and Conditions, This includes the spring housing and rear slider block. J of Forensic Sci. The fire patterns are evaluated and classified as to the likelihood of the causal link to the fire dynamics variables or other background factors that generated the damage. There has been much work towards developing methods for calculating the radiant heat transfer from a plume to secondary objects outside of the plume with varying accuracy. Fire Technology 16(2):95103, Article National Bureau of Standards, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. (USA), Carman S (2008) Burn Pattern Development in Post-Flashover Fires. Previous fire pattern research by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Institute of The first is that the apexFootnote 1 of the V-pattern indicates an origin (Barracato 1979). The burns were intended to be identical to determine if differences would be discovered with a close analysis of the results. 1982; Mealy et al. Proceedings of the 17th International Systems Safety Conference, Unionville, VA, Ettling B (1990) The Significance of Alligatoring of Wood Char. This quote, however, is not to generalize that the area of origin is to be equated with the area of greatest thermal damage outside of this specific test series. Interscience Communications, London (UK), Meacham B (2000) Application of a Decision-Support Tool for Comparing and Ranking Risk Factors for Incorporation into Performance-Based Building Regulations. Because of this, the problem of using fire damage to determine how the fire developed is considered an inverse problem. 4 and 5). f&dUCk|Q89Z(` RJ As explained in this method, the two-dimensional shapes and patterns would be formed by the overall three-dimensional plume as it intersected these surfaces resulting in V-shape and U-shape patterns on walls, contents and vertical structural member and Radial-shaped patterns on the ceiling and horizontal obstructions. Many of the suppression factors would not necessarily develop new patterns that have unique characteristics. 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. A U-shaped burn pattern found on the top of floor joists, caused by fire burning down through the floor. Kirk continues the discussion by cautioning the investigator that this pattern will be altered by the presence of obstructions, or of readily burned fuel in localized areas, and he warns that a very common complication arises when areas of excellent ventilation are present where intense burns will be noted in such areas that may well distract the investigator from following the fire pattern back to its point of origin (Kirk 1969). They further confirmed the NFPA 921s and Mann and Putaansuus progressive visible damage to the surface of the gypsum wallboard. Fire Safety Science-Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium, New York, NY, pp 129139, Taroni F, Bozza S, Aitken C (2005) Decision analysis in forensic science. Obviously, the damage to the walls remaining after the fire is the cumulative result of all items that burned and the investigator would not be able to tell if the damage witnessed was the first item or a later item burning (e.g. Riahi studied the soot deposition characteristics of three different fuels in bench-scale experiments and then against a gypsum wallboard lined wall (Riahi and Beyler 2011; Riahi 2012; Riahi et al. The characteristics distilled from the literature are that plume-generated patterns have areas of greater magnitude of damage in relation to the surrounding areas and because of this, the lines of demarcation between these areas are described as clear or sharp. NUREG-0492, Von Winterfeldt D, Edwards W (1986) Decision Analysis and Behavioral Research. NOTE: As you go higher and higher in timeframes, the volatility increase caused by the breakout is harder and harder to detect, because the news which cause those breakouts have a smaller effect on higher timeframes, but the pattern is still valid, because a large enough breakout will always trigger a pullback of some sort! The researchers noted differences and attributed these to small variations in the inflow of air. The use of 2 springs running parallel to each other allows for equal pressure on each side of the tool (Fig. The correct term for this fire pattern is an irregularly shaped fire pattern. It was reported, many of the investigators had difficulty finding the location of the point of origin, in many cases indicating the opposite side of the room (Custer and Wright 1984). No literature exists that defines methods on how to identify a fire pattern from a cluster of damage. His work also determined that the height of the plume damage was within 5% of the mean visible flame heights for the natural gas burner and gasoline fires. The evolution in terminology clarifies how fire patterns became a more restricted definition and it is this bounded term that will be the focus of this literature review section. Shanley et al. The DOFD as outlined in this article never received any traction within the community and has never been picked up in any other literature (Figs. 2007-DN-BX-K236. Dissertation, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Gorbett G, Chapdelaine W (2014) Scientific Method Use, Application and Gap Analysis for Origin Determination. Hughes Associates, Maryland (USA), Bieber P (2014) Anatomy of Wrongful Arson Conviction: Sentinel Event Analysis in Fire Investigations. A few of the studies also indicated that truncated cone patterns, specifically V-patterns, were located away from the true origin causing confusion for the investigators (Hoffmann et al. (2013). Combining the definition of pattern with the current definition of fire patterns provides a better definition. Magnitude refers to the degree of damage to the material. This study focused on the impact of ventilation on fire patterns and the ability of fire investigators to use fire patterns to determine the quadrant of the room where the fire began. Fire Safety Science 9:13411352, Jarman K, Kreuzer-Martin H, Wunschel D, Valentine N, Cliff J, Petersen C, Colburn H, Wahl K (2008) Bayesian-integrated microbial forensics. As such, material properties were already discussed in the degree of fire damage assessment and will not be duplicated here. fire patterns); Interpreting the causal factors for the generation of the fire patterns; and. Characteristics of the damage linked with ventilation-generated patterns during ventilation-controlled conditions are large surface areas of damage, increased magnitude of damage, damage found near unsealed drywall seams and angled lines of demarcation located around the ventilation opening or directly opposite of a door opening. The literature was received from different databases, primarily ScienceDirect (2012), International Symposium on Fire Investigations conference proceedings, Fire and Arson Investigator-Journal for the International Association of Arson Investigators and fire investigation textbooks. (2004) had flames resulting from a lack of mixing within the compartment, which has also been identified in compartments with combustible linings (Drysdale 2011). [1] The baby will gain the strength in its legs to be able to support itself and walk (which is the left top of the U), but it then grows larger, and the strength in its legs becomes less than required to support itself (the bottom of the U), but then the baby's leg strength increases again which gives it the ability to support itself again (the right top of the U). The conical fire pattern theory evolved into a more systematized manner by the Kennedys (Kennedy and Kennedy 1985). Specifically, the hypothesis that carpet pad seams could mimic the floor fire patterns previously attributed to ignitable liquid pours was examined. However, even the earliest text on fire investigation cautions investigators that ventilation may cause trouble with this process as it will cause greater damage in those areas of better air currents (Rethoret 1945). However, most of these documents also cautioned against relying solely on the use of visible observations and encouraged the investigator to take samples of fire debris for analysis. Plume-generated fire patterns are commonly associated with a greater magnitude of damage (NFPA 2014). The combustion within this compartment is of a high efficiency and the yields of soot and carbon monoxide (CO) are low (Pitts 1994). 14). They are examples only, not models. The first component evaluated is the ability to assess the varying degree of fire damage along the surfaces of the compartment and contents. 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. V-pattern, U-pattern, hourglass-pattern). ceiling). Several recent studies have provided processes to assist in the objective identification of the varying degrees of damage, including a degree of fire damage scale for visible damage (Gorbett et al. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (USA), NFPA (2014) NFPA 921-Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. The damage observed to wall, ceiling and content surfaces is an artifact of the fire dynamics for that fire. Physical changes include melting, deformation, expansion, or loss of tensile strength. The section on char suggested that the investigator go backward from the areas of little char to deeper char establishing the path of fire clearly (Straeter and Crawford 1955). Terms in this set (60) Fire effects. However, all of this is dependent on the burning regime and where combustion is actually taking place at the point in time during the fire when the fuel was ignited. 1997; Carman 2008; Gorbett et al. The wall construction had no significant impact on the damage. The fire plume and the various heat fluxes generated by it are one of the primary means of damage production in the early stages of a fire due to this great temperature difference and highly turbulent flows. Investigations Institute, Illinois (USA), Kennedy J (1977) Fire, Arson and Explosion Investigation. bAH$?6 Director, Fire Investigation Specialist. 1997; NFPA 2014; Gottuk and White 2008). 1997). Again, Kennedy makes the argument that the investigator needs to identify the greatest area of damage. 10). heat, soot) begin to influence the materials within the compartment. 2004). 1997). 2012; Mealy et al. The study concluded that 73.8% without measurable data and 77.7% with measurable data accurately determined the area of origin. A conical pattern has been characterized as one that is produced when the interacting buoyant fire plume is restricted by an intersecting horizontal surface, spreading the heat across the bottom of the obstructing surface. Section 5, Ch. Example of a Heat and Flame Vector Analysis Diagram (fire origin located in center of couch-fire test conducted at EKU by author). National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (USA), NFPA (2002) Recommendations of the Research Advisory Council on Post-fire Analysis A White Paper. Fire patterns are the result of a fire or its. 2014). The other misconception stated that if the pattern had a wide base and resembled an inverted cone, then it was started with a liquid fuel (Barracato 1979). Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, MATH As one early fire investigation text declares, patterns are the cornerstone of all fire investigation because of their universal applicability (DeHaan 1983). Some of their more notable findings was that floor patterns caused by ignitable liquids may be minimal because they can easily be destroyed, that the commonly reported clean burn damage may be caused by water spray from fire suppression hoselines and that areas of clean burn were associated with the inflow of air due to local ventilation flows. NFPA, Quincy, MA, Drysdale D (2011) An Introduction to Fire Dynamics, 3rd edn. ATF, Ammendale, MD, Pattern (2015) Merriam Webster Dictionary. Cue 3- increasing lines of demarcation moving out of vent openings. 2012). The researchers consequently provide guidance to investigators on how to resolve this situation by saying it is necessary to pay particular attention to low burns and shadow effects on room furnishings (Custer and Wright 1984). 2, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 4th edn. This was the first time that a distinction was drawn between damage caused by the fire (fire effects) and clusters of fire effects that may have characteristics that assist the fire investigator (fire patterns). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40038-015-0008-4, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40038-015-0008-4. Most of the studies conducted on calcination are limited in their examination of gypsum wallboard variations. He reports a 5.7% success rate of determining the correct quadrant where the fire was started. Clean burn damage located on the wall opposite of the door opening (not at the area of origin) extended from the floor to the ceiling and had an approximate 6-foot base. The tests were able to burn in the full-room involvement state for 7, 140 and 111s respectively. Interscience Communications, London (UK), Hopkins R, Gorbett G, Kennedy P (2008) Fire Pattern Persistence Through Post-Flashover Compartment Fires. As discussed in Section 2.3.1.1, those surfaces that have direct flame contact will have the highest heat flux exposure, followed by fire plumes near surfaces. This spreadsheet provides all of the test details, general instrumentation results, list of indicators identified or not and provides the probability for the identification of these indicators. 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. The definition of fire effects became observable or measurable changes in or on a material as the result of a fire (NFPA 2008). These tests evaluated many aspects of fire investigations, including the presence of ignitable liquid residue after extinguishment, fire patterns, depth of calcination and the fire dynamics of an under-ventilated compartment. Chemical changes include the decomposition/pyrolysis, dehydration, or changes in color. Multiple carpet pads were tested. statement and The test fire used for this survey was setup as a residential living room furnished with a polyurethane foam couch and loveseat, end tables and a coffee table. Self-published, California (USA), Stratakis G, Stamatelos A (2003) Thermogravimetric analysis of soot emitted by a modern diesel engine run on catalyst-doped fuel. (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. NFPA 921 further lists that fire patterns can be classified by their generation or causal relationship to the fire dynamics by providing the following classes: plume-generated patterns, ventilation-generated patterns, hot gas layer-generated patterns, full-room involvement-generated patterns and suppression-generated patterns (NFPA 2014 ). United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (USA), Brannigan F, Bright R, Jason N (1980) Fire Investigation Handbook. There are numerous factors that may influence how a material is affected by heat and exposure to incomplete combustion products (e.g. repairs of the drywall performed). These results were found to be statistically significant using a chi square distribution yielding a p-value of 0.006. The Mealy study (2013) indicated that a variance on the depth measurements, regardless of the user, was negligible (~10% variance) and that the method worked at reliably indicating fire travel, especially when no visible observations could be made. These studies contended that the use of the heat and flame vector analysis enabled the investigator to determine the true area of origin. 2003). Saito (1993); Williamson, et al. Determining which effect or effects reflect varying degrees of damage is the key to successfully assessing damage. A visible degree of fire damage scale (DOFD) was developed for gypsum wallboard and was shown to decrease variability in novices ranking varying degrees of fire damage across a wall surface (Gorbett et al. 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. 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 second part isolates the work conducted on identifying fire patterns and the characteristics associated with these trends within the damage. In the report, the authors outlined the need to improve the scientific foundations of the forensic disciplines, particularly those that are dependent on qualitative analyses and expert interpretation of observed patterns, including fire investigations (NIJ 2009). Examples of Fire Patterns: "Inverted Cone". 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. 2006; Hopkins et al. 2003). Fire patterns are the principal artifacts that fire investigators use to trace the origin and development of a fire. However, most inverse problems are approached by first establishing direct solutions for well-posed problems. The ventilation opening was located in the wall opposite of this furniture. Fire and Arson Investigator Journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators 63:2440, Utiskul Y (2007) Theoretical and Experimental Study on Fully-Developed Compartment Fires. Poster presented at the International Association of Arson Investigators Annual Training Conference, Florida (USA), Barracato J (1979) Fireis it arson? 12). As the fire continues to grow, the pattern becomes . Several studies have shown that the depth of calcination reliably indicates intensity and duration of heat exposure. Mealy et al. (1997)) reported that suppression-generated patterns, those caused by water spray from a fire department hose line, were easily identifiable in their test series. 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). Also, the study illustrated that drywall seams, if no tape and mud was applied, would present areas of clean burn damage during ventilation-controlled conditions (Mealy et al. The compartments were 12ft by 12ft with 8ft ceiling heights (3.6m3.6m2.4m) with a single door opening 3ft by 6ft-10in. \) 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). Reprinted with permission from the author. Fire and Arson Investigator Journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators 9:2629, Crofton, MD, Tanaka T, Nakaya I, Yoshida M (1985) Full Scale Experiments for Determining the Burning Conditions to be Applied to Toxicity Tests. 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. Photograph courtesy of Robert A. Corry. Often times, positive-pressure ventilation, or mechanically induced ventilation, through the use of a fan is employed in conjunction with fire suppression activities. A literature review was performed in order to achieve the objectives of this study. 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. Much of the earlier published research was focused on examining cross-sections of the wallboard, visibly determining the depth of calcination based on different bands of color within the cross-section (Posey and Posey 1983). Gypsum wallboard is one of the more common lining materials for walls and ceilings used for construction of residential and commercial facilities. Investigations Institute, Florida (USA), Gorbett G, Meacham B, Wood C (2010b) Development and Assessment of a Decision Support Framework for Enhancing the Forensic Analysis and Interpretation of Fire Patterns. The temperature and resultant heat flux decreases with increasing radial distance from the plume centerline. First, the upper layer-generated fire patterns are used by investigators in determining the extent to which the upper layer has descended in the compartment and that, because it is a heat source, is used to help describe other areas of damage within the compartment. 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. 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. Safety, Security And Emergency Management | Safety, Security . This review evaluates the historical and current literature on the topic, with a specific emphasis towards the research conducted over the past 80years related to fire patterns. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative. An optical measurement method was developed to arrive at optical properties of smoke deposited out of a smoke layer onto glass filters. Recently, the National Academy of Sciences released a cautionary report regarding analysis that requires expert interpretation of observations (NIJ 2009). 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