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Fire Technology, 44, 199201, 2008 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. Manufactured in The United States
DOI: 10.1007/s10694-008-0049-5
Fire Debris Analysis is a well written and nicely structured book focused primarily on the structure and properties of petroleum-based liquids and their analysis by gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometry (MS), as suggested by the mass spectrum on the front cover. The authors are recognized re forensic analysts; however, the text is geared toward the greater audience of re investigators and forensic analysts, both seasoned and in training.
Among re forensic analysts, re debris has become synonymous with samples from re scenes that may contain an ignitable liquid residue. On the other hand, re debris to re investigators encompasses all physical evidence and articles of interest from a res area of origin. Where a ammable or combustible liquid may be involved, re investigation training and practices (e.g., NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations) stress the importance of appropriate containers, labeling, sampling, preserving, storing, transporting, and maintaining a chain of custody; they typically do not go into any detail about the laboratory practices and processes of extracting, analyzing, and interpreting the resulting chromatograms. NFPA 921 cites ASTM E 1387 and ASTM E 1618 standards for the analysis and classication of liquid accelerants or ignitable liquid residues in re debris; this book elaborates on those standard test methods. A re investigator...