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To Prevent, To Investigate, To Uphold and To Supply Law & Order: Beware of Fire



Approximately 90% of the fire deaths occur at home. Most of them is caused by smoking, defective electrical wiring, defective and misused heaters, children playing with matches, clothing catching on fire. Burns are divided into the following categories:
-        flame;
-        contact;
-        radiant heat;
-        scalding;
-        chemical;
-        microwave.
The flame burns appears when  flame comes with the direct contact with the body; it is dynamic, quick process, scorching of the skin progressing to charring. Flash burns are a variant of flame burns, which are caused by initial ignition from flash fires. The initial flash is of short duration, it lasts a couple of seconds, all exposed surfaces are burned uniformly. If the victim’s clothes are ignited a combination of flash and traditional burn occur. Flash burns result in partial-thickness burns and signed hair. The thermal conductivity of the skin is low, the burn might be superficial. Contact burns involve physical contact between the body and a hot object. The temperature is of 70 C degrees or higher, trans-epidermal necrosis occurs within less than a second. Radiant heat burns are caused by heat weaves e.g. electromagnetic weave. There is a contact between the body and the flame or a hot surface. The skin becomes blistered, with areas of skin slippage. Long – prolonged contact with the heat will make skin brown,  leathery. In most radiant heat burns hair is intact, if the heat is long there will be charring of the body. There are several factors which determine whether radiant burns occur:
1.    temperature of the heat weave contacting the skin;
2.    time of exposure;
3.    whether the skin is covered with clothing.

Scalding burns are caused by contact with hot liquid, most commonly water on exposed skin. The severity of thermal injury depends on:
-        the extend of the burned area;
-        the severity of the burn;
-        the victim’s age;
-        the presence of the inhalation injuries.

The burn might be described as:
-        first;
-        second;
-        third degree.


First degree  burns are superficial ones – the skin is burned, yet, without blisters. The epidermis is intact, however, there is some injury of the cells. The first degree burns are .e.g. sunburns. Second degree (partial thickness) burns are subdivided into deep and superficial. The burns are red with blister lesion, there is destruction of striatum gronulosum, corneum, with totally destroyed edema. Third degree (full-thickness) burns are characterized with coagulation necrosis of epidermis and dermis. The destruction of  the dermal appendages. Fourth degree burns are very deep – deeper than the skin.


The inflammation of clothing is the most common cause of burns, the victims tend to be very young and the old. These type of burns are extend but not necessary deep.  It happens mostly while cooking and a person wears a long-sleeved night-gown, a robe or a dress. The deaths caused by fire might be immediate or delayed. Immediate deaths are caused by direct thermal injury to the body; smoke inhalation. Delayed deaths occur within three or four days after the accident it is caused by shock, fluid loss, respiratory failure, most of these deaths are also caused by sepsis or chronic respiratory insufficiency.

The burned body is usually impossible to distinguish. Microscopic examination of the burns is not much helpful. When the body is extremely burned the skin might split away exposing muscles, the internal organs are seared or charred. The burned bones have gray-white color. It may crumble. In case of head trauma during the fire blast, postmortem fire epidurals are chocolate brown color, have a crumbly or honeycomb appearance. They are large and thick, they typically overlie the frontal, parietal and temporal areas, as well as, occipital ones.

In smoke inhalation the blisters might appear in larynx, thorax and lungs, there is an extensive burning of the air passages. It is carbon monoxide poisoning, which resulted in oxygen deprivation. The blood test is a must. The body identification is case of smoke inhalation is not complicated, as long as, the facial recognition is possible, alongside with the dental X-Rays.

Smoking is a common cause of house fires. Homicide by fire is an intentional act; deliberately set fire – a suspicious arson may have purposes such as profit, insurance fraud, revenge. The arson is an attempt to conceal the cause of death. Self immolation is rare but occurs and an individual douse himself with flammable liquid. In chemical burns the extension of it depends on the agent. Microwave burns are associated with molecular agitation.

The following examples of fire accidents are to explain Us how important is it to avoid a direct contact with it. Fire is an unstoppable force, rapid, ruthless and unpredictable. A mild, insignificantly looking flame, fireworks may burst into lethal element. Beware of flames and do not play with fire unless it is absolutely necessary.

Acknowledgements:
The Police Department;
https://www.politie.nl/mijnbuurt/politiebureaus/05/burgwallen.html  and a Chief Inspector – Mr.Erik Akerboom ©

Bibliography:
1. Eckert, G.W.: Introduction to Forensic Sciences. 1992.
2. Aginsky, V.: A microspectrophotometric method for dating ballpoint inks — a feasibility study, J. Forensic Sci., vol. 40. 1995
3. Beck, J.: Handwriting of the alcoholic, Forensic Sci. Intl., vol. 28, 19, 1985.
4. Beck, J.: Sources of error in forensic handwriting evaluation, J. Forensic Sci., vol. 40 (no. 1), 78, 1995.
5. Dawson, G.A.: Brain function and writing with the unaccustomed hand, J. Forensic Sci., vol. 30 (no. 1), 167, 1985.
6. Franks, J.E.: The direction of ballpoint penstrokes in left- and right-hand writers as indicated by the orientation of burrstriations,J. Forensic Sci. Soc.,vol. 22, 271,1982.
7. Gerhart, F.J.: Identification of photo copiers from fusing roller defects,J. Forensic Sci.,vol. 37 (no. 1), 130, 1992.
8. Gilreath, J.: The Judgment of Experts: Essays and Documents About the Investigation of the Forging of the “Oath of a Freeman”, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA, 1991.
9. Oron, M. and Tamir, V.: Development of some methods for solving forensic problems encountered in handwritten and printed documents, Intl. Crim. Police Rev., no.324, 24, Jan. 1979.
10.                  Osborn, A.S.: Questioned Documents, 2nd ed. (facsimile reproduction), Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL, circa 1985

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