A Rapid Analysis of Accelerants in Fire Debris

Abstract

A system has been developed for the identification of trace amounts of petroleum products from the debris of fires using a Bentone 34 + Di-isodecylphthalate (DIDP) column. Samples were obtained in the vapour state by the following three methods: 1) Headspace sampling at room temperature.2) Headspace sampling after heating in an oven.3) Sampling from the condenser during distillation.Gasoline and naphtha can be readily differentiated from other accelerants and contaminants. A large percentage of arson cases require no further examination than the oven heating method followed by G.C. analysis.