The chemical analysis of fire debris represents a crucial part in fire investigations to determine the cause of a fire. A headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) procedure for the detection of ignitable liquids in fire debris using a fiber coated with a mixture of three different sorbent materials (Divinylbenzene/Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane, DVB/CAR/PDMS) is described. Gasoline and diesel fuel were spiked upon a preburnt matrix (wood charcoal), extracted and concentrated with HS-SPME and then analyzed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The experimental conditions--extraction temperature, incubation and exposure time--were optimized. To assess the applicability of the method, fire debris samples were prepared in the smoke density chamber (SDC) and a controlled-atmosphere cone calorimeter. The developed methods were successfully applied to burnt particleboard and carpet samples. The results demonstrate that the procedure that has been developed here is suitable for detecting these ignitable liquids in highly burnt debris.

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Summary Reconstructing the course of a fire and performing chemical analysis of ignitable liquids in fire debris is an important tool to conduct fire investigations in suspected arson cases. Here, a total of five fire tests has been performed to investigate the effect of fire accelerants on the fire development of a room fire and to prove the capability of analytical methods. Different experimental scenarios have been realized (no accelerant, accelerant applied at different positions, and different amounts of fire accelerant). Each test room was equipped with an identical set of living room furnishing. The location and amount of the fire accelerant applied löschen varied in four of five tests. One experiment was carried out without fire accelerant. Fire quantities such as mass loss (of the entire room), gas temperatures (at several locations in the room), and heat release were determined during the experiments, and chemical‐analytical studies were carried out. A headspace solid phase micro extraction procedure, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, was used to analyze fire debris samples to potentially detect ignitable liquids. Beside the analysis of fire debris samples, swipe soot samples were analyzed and the detectability of the fire accelerant used was demonstrated. Results show that it is possible to provide evidence of ignitable liquids in soot samples collected from walls. This allows an additional sampling strategy at potential crime scenes, besides taking fire debris samples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUMMARY Based on forensic evidence, a smouldering fire was observed to have occurred at a murder scene. Identification of a reasonable timeline – specifically the fire dynamics of the ignition and fire growth that occurred coincident with the death that took place – became an important focus of the criminal investigation that followed. The fire service was called when a neighbour saw a grey smoke escaping through the ventilation system of the bathrooms on the roof of the house. One flat door with elevated temperatures was found. The fire fighter who entered the flat first reported later that the flat was completely filled with smoke and all windows were closed. When the fire fighter opened the balcony door, he saw flames on the sofa that he extinguished. Then he found a body on the floor. The autopsy showed later that the victim was dead before the fire started. The police suspected that the murderer probably had deliberately set the fire to destroy evidence. One suspect had been witnessed to be in the flat approximately 2 h before the fire was detected by the neighbour. The aim of this project was to investigate how the fire most likely started and developed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.