Interpretation of the causal factors for the generation of the fire patterns was next appraised. Gorbett, G.E., Meacham, B.J., Wood, C.B. 2013), and the use of digital image analysis (Riahi et al. The importance of fire patterns is clearly reiterated in Section 6.1.1 by stating the major objective of any fire scene examination is to collect data as required by the scientific method. The compartment can reach a state of full-room involvement without transitioning through flashover, or become ventilation-limited and never achieve full-room involvement state (Francis and Chen 2012). Cue 2-increased magnitude of damage near the fuel item. ceiling). It was not until 2008 that NFPA 921 changed the definition of the term with the introduction of the term fire effects. Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Gottuk D, White D (2008) Liquid Fuel Fires. NFPA 921 (2014) discusses that plume-generated patterns typically have characteristics associated with geometric shapes. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. %%EOF Twelve thermocouples were mounted in a grid array above the fuel item to capture temperatures for the duration of the tests. Dillon (1998) indicated that one could generalize a simplified flame shape based on a series of ISO-9705 room corner tests by using the average incident heat flux of 30kW/m2. In this work, the authors outlined a system that described char as being on a range from Number 0 Char up to Number 10 Char, with number 10 char as representing the greatest level of damage. The combustion within this compartment is of a high efficiency and the yields of soot and carbon monoxide (CO) are low (Pitts 1994). The definition of fire effects became observable or measurable changes in or on a material as the result of a fire (NFPA 2008). increases. Saito (1993); Williamson, et al. In March of 1997 four full-size compartment test fires were conducted in furnished bedrooms (Milke and Hill 1997). As this smoke collides with cooler surfaces, it may deposit out of the heated gases onto wall, ceiling and content surfaces. The chapter on fire patterns underwent reorganization between the 20042008 editions to divide fire effects and fire patterns. Protected Surface: Body "Clean Burn" "Rundown Burn" Ignitable Liquid Pour Pattern. This article is a third in a series that discusses burn patterns and interpretations when attempting to determine the origin of a fire. In this text, it is stated that as heat marks begin to form at the top of a room as a result of the hot air that rises from the firethese marks get lower and lower on the wall. 2012). Lines of demarcation are the borders defining the differences in certain heat and smoke effects of the fire on various materials. Thermocouple data and total heat flux gauges were used as instrumentation for all three burns. The production increases substantially as the compartment fire becomes ventilation-limited. Consequently, the forensic scientist must interpret and present the significance of the evidence to the court of law (Taroni et al. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigations. Often times the soot deposited within the room of origin will be higher in elevation with distinct lines of demarcation and thick soot deposits. 1997). California Privacy Statement, 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. Combustion Science and Technology 39:195214, Dillon S (1998) Analysis of the ISO 9705 Room/Corner Test: Simulations, Correlations and Heat Flux Measurements. Kennedy and Kennedy (1985) described a first method as the V pattern method is based on the fact that fire burns upward and outward toward available fuel, leaving a V shaped pattern that can be traced back to its lowest point which would be the area of origin. The principle behind fire patterns was first linked to the need to trace the fire spread (Rethoret 1945). [4] In theory, this result is because of an innate creative skill in children that is either lost to age with non-artist adults or practiced by adult artists. Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Identifying processes of using fire patterns in determining an area of origin. They also discussed that locations and conditions of ventilation openings as functioning in two different capacities, where the fire could pass to the next roomor it may be a source of incoming air to feed the fire (Straeter and Crawford 1955). Noted differences with this level line of demarcation are damage in corners and near ventilation openings. Their method encouraged investigators to use fire patterns to arrive at an origin, but upon arriving at their hypothetical area(s) of origin required the investigator to provide some measure of accuracy in the form of a radius of error. The only method that appears to be systematized and examples provided was the truncated cone method in conjunction with the heat and flame vector analysis (Kennedy and Kennedy 1985). Key aspects of a decision support framework include identification of decision objectives, attributes (criteria) which are important to the decision problem and the weighting (importance) of the attributes to the decision given the uncertainty and variability in the data and relationship between the attributes. Investigations Institute, Florida (USA), Gorbett G, Hicks W, Kennedy P, Hopkins R (2006) Full-Scale Room Burn Pattern Study. 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. SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineers, NFPA, Quincy, MA, Hicks W, Gorbett G, Kennedy P, Hopkins R, Abney W (2006) Advanced Fire Pattern Research Project. One aspect of looking at radiant heat flux is to determine if the secondary object has been raised to a critical temperature or is receiving a critical heat flux where ignition of that object is possible. 14, 4th edn. 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. Kirks three-dimensional conical shape persists today as the predominant means of evaluating the geometry of fire patterns. These photographs and annotations are provided to illustrate the burn pattern . 2010). Carpet pad configuration was also varied including no seam and two, off-center seams for comparison and control purposes. 736, Thomas P (1981) Testing products and materials for their contribution to flashover in rooms. Cue 5-lines of demarcation are angled emanating from the fuel item. They confirmed that 6.6lbf (3kgf) of force was best at matching the Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) chemical analysis of dehydration found in the Mann and Putaansuu study (2010). Dillon (1998) went on to illustrate that some of the corner flame height approximations resulted in 40% uncertainty, but others were as close as 2%. However, ventilation becomes one of the more prominent influences of damage when the compartment has transitioned into ventilation-controlled conditions. He contends that damage should just be viewed as data and the investigator must resist the temptation to interpret the meaning of individual fire effects and fire patterns in isolation (Cox 2013). 4. Furthermore, this process has not been widely tested for reliability or validity. As floor patterns were warned against, so has floor penetrations by both the fire science and investigation communities (Babrauskas 2005; NFPA 2014). 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). Two 15ft by 15ft (4.57m4.57m) structures with a ceiling height of 7ft (2.13m) were tested. Test. National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Technical Note 1618, Maryland (USA), Mann D, Putaansuu N (2009) Studies of the Dehydration/Calcination of Gypsum Wallboard. Average velocities of natural ventilation flows through windows have been recorded between 0.5 and 1.0m/s (1.14.4 mph) depending on the sill height and elevation of the opening within the wall (Kerber 2010; Kerber and Walton 2005; Quintiere and McCaffrey 1980). In 1985, Cooke and Ide put forward a process termed radius of error (Cooke and Ide 1985). 2012), Testing photograph for carpet pad seam generation of pattern similar to reported ignitable liquid pour showing burning in exposed surface resulting from carpet pad shrinkage (Wood et al. 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). Forensic Science International 147:4957, Boudreau J, Kwan Q, Faragher W, Denault G (1977) Arson and Arson Investigation-Survey and Assessment. Fire and Arson Investigator Journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators 19:127133, Crofton, MD, DeHaan J, Icove D (2011) Kirks Fire Investigation. A two-dimensional fire pattern is expected to form on the vertical surface interface (i.e. 2003). The Mealy, Wolfe and Gottuk study used the Ngu force gauge to ensure that the user performed their measurements with similar force (Mealy et al. They appear between the affected area and adjacent, less-affected areas (NFPA 2014). doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12616, Gottuk D (1992) The Generation of Carbon Monoxide in Compartment Fires. As the smoke exits the opening, it expands in volume and rises. Pearson/Brady, New Jersey (USA), Delichatsios M (1984) Flame Heights of Turbulent Wall Fire with Significant Flame Radiation. This is still a common practice in fire investigations with these undamaged areas termed protected areas. Suppression factors may also impact the visible and measurable damage that investigators use. Part of The developing fire and the variables influencing the fire scenario control heat transfer in a compartment, including the location, the intensity and duration of the heat transfer. These studies contended that the use of the heat and flame vector analysis enabled the investigator to determine the true area of origin. 2008). Mass loss of the furniture items was measured at the end of each test and was showed to relate well to the area of origin. 2013). Fire patterns are identified as the collection of these effects and geometric shapes that these effects produced. Several studies noted areas of clean burn and damage of great magnitude occurring around contents and to wall surfaces within this airflow and to wall surfaces directly opposite of the opening during ventilation-controlled conditions (Custer and Wright 1984; Shanley et al. Given these findings, damage cues 1, 2 and 4 are used as the most accurate damage cues for classifying a fire pattern generated by ventilation. He reports a 5.7% success rate of determining the correct quadrant where the fire was started. The most important finding from these tests is that the interpretation of all fire effects provides substantial evidence for the investigator to identify the correct area of origin (Gorbett et al. A clean burn area of damage was located at the area of origin only with the fire with the shortest duration of full room involvement burning. His findings indicate that gypsum wallboard was the only material that could be reliably used for predicting intensity and duration purposes. National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST-GCR-98-756, Gaithersburg, MD, Donegan H (2008) Decision Analysis. (2013) also discuss findings related to the visual identification of surface damage progression to gypsum wallboard based on imposed heat fluxes. 2004). 2026 Plaza Dr. PO Box 8637 Benton Harbor, MI 49023 Voice: (269) 925-2200 Fax: (269) 925-2204 E-Mail: firefind@firefindings.com United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (USA), Brannigan F, Bright R, Jason N (1980) Fire Investigation Handbook. 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). Therefore, fire investigators within most fire scenes typically find charred material. The damage cues evaluated for upper layer-generated damage included: Cue 1-damage high in elevation on wall surfaces. 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. 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. Typically, flashover occurs at a =1.0 (Wieczorek et al. As the temperature of the gases in the upper layer increases and the duration of influence between these gases and the lining surfaces increase, the heat flux imposed on these surfaces reaches a critical threshold that begins damaging the material and creating fire effects attributed to the upper gas layer. NFPA 921 is recognized as establishing the standard of care for the fire investigation profession and is the only consensus document that exists for fire investigators. (1997)) reported that suppression-generated patterns, those caused by water spray from a fire department hose line, were easily identifiable in their test series. Match. Clean burn damage also occurred along the wall near the doorway opening in the fire with the longest full room involvement burning duration. In all cases, ignition of a gasoline spill next to an upholstered chair was used to initiate the fire. 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. heat, soot) begin to influence the materials within the compartment. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (USA), Ngu C (2004) Calcination of Gypsum Plasterboard under Fire Exposure. Gregory E Gorbett. Cambridge Press, Cambridge (UK), Morvan G, Jolly D, Dupont D, Kubiak P (2007) A Decision Support System for Forensic Entomology., Paper presented at EUROSIM 2007 conference, http://www.forenseek.org/spip/?A-Decision-Support-System-for,46, NFPA (1992) NFPA 921-Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation. Test. debris fall down). Saddle burns display deep charring. 1982; Mealy et al. The statistics can be found in the Excel Spreadsheet associated with this review paper. Fire Safety Science Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium, Elsevier Applied Science, New York, pp 657667, Wolfe A, Mealy C, Gottuk D (2009) Fire Dynamics and Forensic Analysis of Limited Ventilation Compartment Fires Volume 1: Experimental. FIRE PATTERNS. [3], This U-shaped curve is different from the other types of skill development because this skill has an artistic rating with it, which means there could be differences in opinion, but in studies where children, adult artists, and non-artist adults were all given the same directions to draw a self portrait, the children's and the artists' were the closest of the three to depicting the face when picked by an outside group. 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. The visible appearance of wallboard has been utilized in all fire pattern studies available, even though only a few studies exist that focus on the baseline characteristics of the varying degree of heating and resulting DOFD (Madrzykowski and Fleischmann 2012; Hicks et al. The ULG patterns are characterized by level lines of demarcation (or lines with similar elevation) with a generally uniform degree of damage (NFPA 2014). All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Self-published, California (USA), Stratakis G, Stamatelos A (2003) Thermogravimetric analysis of soot emitted by a modern diesel engine run on catalyst-doped fuel. The damage cues evaluated for ventilation-generated damage included: Cue 1- increased area and magnitude of damage within the airflow from the opening. 2014). wood chair) and the pyrolyzates (unburned fuel) will burn in locations near ventilation openings and along airflow paths when sufficient oxygen for combustion exists (Custer and Wright 1984; Shanley et al. Several studies concerning ventilation-controlled fires throughout the years have introduced a concept of a ventilation factor (\( {A}_v\sqrt{h_v} \)) and illustrated the importance of ventilation openings on a fires growth by analyzing the size of ventilation openings, locations of these openings within the compartment and the shear mixing that occurs at the interface of the opening (Kawagoe 1958; Thomas and Heslden 1972; Harmathy 1972; Thomas and Bennets 1999; Utiskul 2007; Sugawa et al. Around the late 1970s there was a movement within the profession to describe fire patterns by descriptions of their geometric shapes (e.g. There are numerous factors that may influence how a material is affected by heat and exposure to incomplete combustion products (e.g. Interscience Communications, London (UK), Kerber S (2010) Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Residential Construction. The current damage indicator as espoused by NFPA 921 is that sides that slope downward from above toward the hole are indicators that the fire was from above. The objective of this paper is to review the work that has been done to observe or measure varying damage along compartment and content surfaces, identify fire patterns, identify causal factors for the fire patterns and apply this information within a process to identify an area of origin, as well as identify gaps and propose new approaches. The fire investigators observations are simply assessing the varying DOFD. Barnott et al. 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. V-patterns, spalling, distorted bulbs, depth of. The researchers discuss that similar truncated cone patterns were identified in the first eight tests (Gorbett et al. Carman (2008) noted similar areas of damage of great magnitude directly opposite door openings and within the inflow of the air from this door. 1980; Keith and Smith 1984; King 1985; Ettling 1990). 1981; Thomas 1981). 2010). This survey also related that the average fire investigator has only received 60h of training, indicating a one-to-two week course. The focus of his process was similar to the others in describing that the area of origin will be located at the greatest area of damage and the investigators should focus on identifying the low burn damage areas and using conical shapes. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigations. Incident heat flux to wall, floor, or ceiling surfaces is dependent on the HRR of the fuel and standoff distance between the flame plume and the surface of interest. Proceedings of The 3rd International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods, SFPE, Bethesda, MD (USA), Mealy C (2013) Ignitable Liquid Fuel Fires in Buildings A Study of Fire Dynamics. Assessing the historical and current semantics of the fire investigation literature, the use of fire patterns to determine an area of origin, for purposes of the current paper, can be grouped into four areas of literature that need to be reviewed, including: Assessing the varying degrees of fire damage (DOFD) along the surfaces of the compartment and contents (i.e. A short list of material properties that may also influence the effects of a material exposed to a fire environment includes: moisture content, thermal conductivity, density, specific heat, critical heat flux, ignition and flame spread propensity and heat of gasification/vaporization (NFPA 2014). The conclusion reached by the researchers was that it would appear that the major conclusion which can be drawn from this study is that ventilation conditions in the early stages of a fire can cause an anomalous fire spread, thus giving a false impression as to the point of origin (Custer and Wright 1984). Fire Technology 16(2):95103, Article The direct solutions currently listed for causes of fire patterns include, plume-generated patterns, hot gas layer-generated patterns, ventilation-generated patterns and suppression-generated patterns (NFPA 2014). These included that soot deposition can be used to aid in the area of origin determination and that the clean burn area size was proportional to the fire size (Wolfe et al. There has been extensive work done in the area of flashover for traditional residential-sized compartments with a single opening. 2010). Paper presented at the International Symposium on Fire Investigations. Typically, investigators look at the face of the wallboard and make a visible determination of the DOFD. Comparing Delichatsioss (1984) simple correlation of flame height for wall fires to the average damage height identified in Madrzykowskis study shows that the calculated flame height under-predicted the damage height by approximately 711% for the natural gas burner and gasoline fires. This section of the literature review focuses on the use of fire patterns and fire pattern generation to identify an area of origin. 6, 4th edn. Finally, the study was conducted with a variety of digital cameras and they found that the optical properties were not dependent on the camera used. These results were found to be statistically significant using a chi square distribution yielding a p-value of 0.006. Fire investigators are instructed to visually and measurably identify these areas and lines of demarcation. Currently, no systematic method exists for fire investigators to identify a fire pattern. Many of the early texts discuss this similarly to Rethoret when he states using the method of tracing the course of the fire and by working backwards, the actual place where the fire originated can usually be determined by the greatest damage (Rethoret 1945). as the height of the plume increases what happens to the width. Each compartment had a door that measured 2ft, 7in. He attributes the differences to the ventilation effects. NFPA 921s original publication followed this trend and warned, irregular, curved, or pool shaped patterns on floors and floor coverings cannot always be reliably identified as resulting from ignitable liquids on the basis of observation alone (NFPA 1992). Carman reports on three tests conducted at ATFs fire research laboratory in a follow-up to his 2008 work (Carman 2010). The three tests were better instrumented with three total heat flux gauges, one radiant heat flux gauge, three gas sensors (measuring O2, CO2, CO), and gas velocity probes (Oullette 2008). Also, their study noted that similar areas of great magnitude of damage occurred around doors and on walls opposite door openings. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (USA), NFPA (2008) NFPA 921-Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation. A U-shape could indicate that there was a "pool of origin" rather than a point of origin, such as might be caused by, say, a puddle of gasoline. The definition of fire patterns evolved to the visible or measurable physical changes, or identifiable shapes, formed by a fire effect or group of fire effects (NFPA 2008). Historically, fire investigators have been individuals without any formal education or training in scientific methodology. There are only two studies that have focused solely on the geometric shapes from plumes (Hicks et al. Many plastic materials will burn. Once the investigators have narrowed down a 100 square foot section of burned area as the starting point, they bring out the fine-toothed combs. National Institute of Justice, Report 60400, Washington D.C. (USA), Qian C, Saito K (1992) Fire-Induced Flow Along the Vertical Corner Wall. The researchers noted differences and attributed these to small variations in the inflow of air. Secondly, these patterns are often used as a means to show direction of smoke and heat travel. In ventilation-controlled conditions, cue 1 was the most positively identified in 82% of the studies (37/45), cue 2 was identified in 73% of the studies (33/45), cue 4 was identified in 64% of the studies (29/45), cue 6 was identified in 62% of the studies (28/45), cue 3 was identified in 53% of the studies (24/45), and cue 5 was only identified in 11% of the studies. 2008). These tests produced the first published data that supported fire patterns as being useful in fire investigation. (0.787m2.032m) and was opened to the exterior for the entire duration of the test. 1993; Morgan and Henrion 1990; Von Winterfeldt and Edwards 1986). No literature exists that defines methods on how to identify a fire pattern from a cluster of damage. Fire and Arson Investigator Journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators 1:2526, Crofton, MD, Putorti A (1997) Full Scale Room Burn Pattern Study. The final two tests were performed after multiple television sets and electronic appliances were placed on wood stands and on the floor in a burn room containing an upholstered chair and area rugboth of these tests were allowed to progress into full-room involvement and were not extinguished until 4min past flashover (Hoffmann et al. In essence this shows that fire investigators were trained to identify the greatest area of damage and that this would be the area of origin. A survey was conducted to evaluate the proficiency of professional fire investigators at determining the area of origin when provided with photographs and measurable data from a test (Tinsley and Gorbett 2013). One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators. clean burn) and with wash from the hoseline for suppression. A substantial degree of damage is often times found directly adjacent to or opposite of window and door openings. The literature identified that investigators use the damage in two different ways. Prior to discussing the patterns themselves and their historical progression, it is first important to recognize that lines of demarcation or areas of demarcation serve as the borders of a fire pattern and should be defined. Duxbury, California (USA), Cooke R, Ide R (1985) Principles of Fire Investigation. However, no specific details are provided on how to implement this analysis. 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. In fact, Kirk was very adamant that investigators should not conclude that the damage was from an ignitable liquid as such an interpretation was more often incorrect than otherwise (Kirk 1969). Particulates and aerosols are deposited and heat is transferred in the same direction and flow as the smoke. There were two windows and one door, where one window was closed and the other open for the fire duration, while the door was opened 5min post-ignition. Heat fluxes to the walls inside a compartment containing an upper gas layer have been reported to range between 5 and 40kW/m2, based on varying temperatures between 200 and 600C (Tanaka et al. If the mud and tape were present to cover the drywall seams, then typically the damage is lesser at this area. 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