Identifying Ignitable Liquids in Fire Debris: A Guideline for Forensic Experts

Identifying Ignitable Liquids in Fire Debris: A Guideline for Forensic Experts discusses and illustrates the characteristics of different ignitable liquid products. This guideline builds on the minimum criteria of the ignitable liquid classes defined in the internationally accepted standard ASTM E1618 Standard Test Method for Ignitable Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris Samples by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The volume provides information on the origin of the characteristics of these ignitable liquid products and provides a summary of characteristics to demonstrate a positive identification of the particular product class. Topics such as the term ignitable liquid, relevant guidelines for fire debris analysis, production processes of ignitable liquids, fire debris analysis methods, and interferences in fire debris analysis, are briefly discussed as these topics are essential for the understanding of the identification and classification of ignitable liquid residues in fire debris.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction2. Ignitable Liquid Products3. ASTM E16184. General Production Processes of Ignitable Liquid Products5. Fire Debris Analysis Methods6. Interferences in Identification of Ignitable Liquid Products7. Guidance for the Identification of Ignitable Liquids in Fire Debris

About the Author :
Jeanet Hendrikse is a forensic scientist at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) in The Hague, the Netherlands, a position she has held since 2004. She is a forensic expert in the fields of fire debris analysis and miscellaneous unknown casework, and currently also serves as team leader of this combined section. Ms. Hendrikse is very active in the forensic fire debris community in Europe. She has been a member of the Fire & Explosions Investigation Working Group (FEIWG) of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) since 2004. As a member of this working group, she has been the driving force in the development and coordination of a European collaborative testing scheme for ignitable liquid analysis in fire debris. She is currently a steering-committee member, and is leading the establishment of a European database of ignitable liquids. Ms. Hendrikse is involved in the training of national fire investigators, and lecturing on the subjects in her field of expertise to members from the Dutch legal system. Ms. Hendrikse holds a Master of Science degree in Analytical Chemistry from Leiden University (the Netherlands). Before becoming a forensic scientist at the NFI, she worked as a chemist at the international Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Hague for 7 years, the industrial company Hoechst Holland in Vlissingen for 1 year, the printing office Lawson Mardon in Bergen op Zoom for 1 year, and the environmental laboratory SGS Ecocare in ‘s Gravenpolder for 2 years (all located in the Netherlands). Michiel Grutters is a forensic scientist at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) in The Hague, the Netherlands, a position he has held since 2010. He is a forensic expert in the area of fire debris analysis. He is the author of over 750 case reports in fire debris analysis. He has been involved in the education of national fire investigators and students at both bachelor and master level. Michiel Grutters obtained his MSc degree in chemistry from Utrecht University (the Netherlands). He performed his PhD research at Eindhoven University of Technology (the Netherlands) in the field of homogenous catalysis under supervision of Prof. Dr. D. Vogt. Prior to joining the NFI, he worked for 5 years in the area of food analysis at the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority in Eindhoven (the Netherlands). Since 1995 Frank Schäfer has been employed as a forensic scientist at the Forensic Institute of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, “BKA”). A forensic expert in the areas of fire debris analysis and fire scene examination, he also acts as a forensic contact person for cases involving radio nuclear material. His experience includes serving with the Drug Section of the BKA, where he was responsible for a Research and Development programme. His current position is as deputy leader of the fire section of the BKA Forensic Science Institute.Frank Schäfer received his diploma in chemistry and his doctoral degree in nuclear and analytical chemistry from the Johannes-Gutenberg-University of Mainz (Germany).