{"title":"Horizontal fire spread by foam-backed, polypropylene carpet","authors":"M Jones","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.01.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>An eight year old boy was badly injured by a fire in his bedroom in May 2005. He spent his ninth birthday in intensive care and died a month later. This case study discusses a missing link into the pattern of fire development which made it difficult to identify the point of ignition. An absence of burning to the floor and isolated areas of burning seemed incongruous with the general pattern of fire development. Several fire investigation texts suggest that carpet cannot spread fire by itself; those texts that do mention the possibility, do not describe the mechanism in detail, nor what evidence an investigator might expect to see after the fire.</p><p>Experimentation with samples of carpet gave good insight into the mechanism and its effects, thereby providing the missing link by which to connect the areas of burning and identify the point of origin. If elements of the mechanism described in this paper are known, a reader could discern enough from the many papers available to support a working hypothesis but as yet, there is no single paper that describes the phenomenon mechanistically from start to finish, especially to those who have not encountered elements of it before; hence, this paper presents some novel findings.</p><p><span>The test involved polypropylene fibre carpets with integral </span>polyurethane foam underlay, a very common type of carpet owing to its low cost and high durability. This is, therefore, an important mechanism of fire spread for fire investigators to be aware of and to understand. As this is a case study, rather than a research paper, the matters are dealt with empirically so the author cautions that when considering this mechanism in a new matter, the investigator should make their own tests of its validity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Science & Justice","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030624000029","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, LEGAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
An eight year old boy was badly injured by a fire in his bedroom in May 2005. He spent his ninth birthday in intensive care and died a month later. This case study discusses a missing link into the pattern of fire development which made it difficult to identify the point of ignition. An absence of burning to the floor and isolated areas of burning seemed incongruous with the general pattern of fire development. Several fire investigation texts suggest that carpet cannot spread fire by itself; those texts that do mention the possibility, do not describe the mechanism in detail, nor what evidence an investigator might expect to see after the fire.
Experimentation with samples of carpet gave good insight into the mechanism and its effects, thereby providing the missing link by which to connect the areas of burning and identify the point of origin. If elements of the mechanism described in this paper are known, a reader could discern enough from the many papers available to support a working hypothesis but as yet, there is no single paper that describes the phenomenon mechanistically from start to finish, especially to those who have not encountered elements of it before; hence, this paper presents some novel findings.
The test involved polypropylene fibre carpets with integral polyurethane foam underlay, a very common type of carpet owing to its low cost and high durability. This is, therefore, an important mechanism of fire spread for fire investigators to be aware of and to understand. As this is a case study, rather than a research paper, the matters are dealt with empirically so the author cautions that when considering this mechanism in a new matter, the investigator should make their own tests of its validity.
期刊介绍：
Science & Justice provides a forum to promote communication and publication of original articles, reviews and correspondence on subjects that spark debates within the Forensic Science Community and the criminal justice sector. The journal provides a medium whereby all aspects of applying science to legal proceedings can be debated and progressed. Science & Justice is published six times a year, and will be of interest primarily to practising forensic scientists and their colleagues in related fields. It is chiefly concerned with the publication of formal scientific papers, in keeping with its international learned status, but will not accept any article describing experimentation on animals which does not meet strict ethical standards.
Promote communication and informed debate within the Forensic Science Community and the criminal justice sector.
To promote the publication of learned and original research findings from all areas of the forensic sciences and by so doing to advance the profession.
To promote the publication of case based material by way of case reviews.
To promote the publication of conference proceedings which are of interest to the forensic science community.
To provide a medium whereby all aspects of applying science to legal proceedings can be debated and progressed.
To appeal to all those with an interest in the forensic sciences.
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