Kirk's Fire Investigation

770 Pages·2011·45.147 MB·English

by  John D. DeHaan, David J. Icove

KIRK'S FIRE
INVESTIGATION
SEVENTH EDITION
John D. DeHaan
David J. Icove

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KIRK'S FIRE
INVESTIGATION

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JohnD. Ph.D.
Fire-Ex ForensicSk Inc
VilkjOb CalHomia
David J. kove* Ph.D^ P.E.
The University of'fennessee
KiK»cville« Tennessee
Pearson
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam
Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi
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CONTENTS
J
Preface xxiii
Acknowledgments xxvii
About the Authors xxxi
NFPA 1033 Correlation Matrix xxxii
Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) Grid xxxiv
Chapter 1 introduction 1
Fire Investigation 2
The Fire Problem 4
Fire Statistics in the United States 4
Fire Statistics in the United Kingdom 5
Role of the Fire Investigator in Accurately Reporting the Causes of Fires 5
The Detection of Incendiary Fires 6
Reporting Arson as a Crime 6
Problems Associated with Estimating Incendiary Fires 8
Scientifically Based Fire Investigation 10
Comprehensive Methodologies for Fire Investigation 10
The Scientific Approach to Fire Investigation 11
Applying the Scientific Method 11
Steps in the Scientific Method 12
Levels of Confidence 15
Legal Opinions Regarding Science in Investigation 16
Chapter Review 17
Review Questions 17
References 17
Chapter 2 The Elementary Chemistry of Combustion 19
Elements, Atoms, and Compounds 20
The Oxidation Reaction 21
Carbon Compounds 22
Other Elements 22
Organic Compounds 23
Hydrocarbons 23
Petroleum Products 25
Carbohydrates 26
Pyrolysis of Organics 28
Conclusions about Organic Compounds 28
State of the Fuel 28
Significance of State of Fuel 29
VII
Difficulty in Classifying Some Hydrocarbons 29
Solids 30
Liquids 30
Chapter Review 31
Summary 31
Review Questions 31
References 31
Chapter 3 Fundamentals of Fire Behavior and Building
Construction 32
Basic Combustion 33
Flaming Fire 34
Structure of Flames 36
Smoldering Fire 38
Explosive Combustion 41
Heat 42
Heat and the Rate of Reaction 42
Heat and Temperature 43
Heat Release Rate 43
Heat Transfer and Heat Flux 45
Direct Flame Impingement 50
Flame Plume 51
Sequence of a Room Fire 54
Beginning or Incipient Stage 54
Growth, a Free-Burning Stage 56
Fire Growth to Flashover 56
Post-Flashover Stage 61
Decay Stage 62
Flow of Hot Gases 63
Effects of Environmental Conditions 65
Temperature 65
Humidity 66
Wetness of Fuel (Fuel Moisture Content) 67
Wind 68
Oxygen Content 68
Elements of Building Construction 69
Structural Shell 69
Fire Resistance Ratings 72
Internal Structure 73
Chapter Review 82
Summary 82
Review Questions 82
References 82
viii Contents