Arson forensics (also known as fire investigation) is the application of science to the investigation of arson. Arson forensics has two distinct phases: fire scene investigation, which focuses on evidence at the scene of the fire, and fire debris analysis, which focuses on evidence removed from the scene and analyzed in a laboratory.
Fire scene investigation involves determining whether a fire was intentionally set and identifying its point of origin. It becomes much more difficult when the “flashover” point has been reached — when a room becomes so hot that every ignitable surface bursts into flames.
Fire debris analysis focuses on ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) and aims to identify potential traces of accelerant and their chemical composition — these samples are often found by dogs at the scene.
Used in tactics: Incrimination
Mitigations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Anonymous purchases | An adversary can sometimes identify accelerants and trace them back to a gas station brand, and from there to the identity of the person who purchased the accelerants. To mitigate this, you can purchase accelerants anonymously. |
| Careful action planning | An adversary can tie actions together if accelerants from the same sources are used in all of them. To mitigate this, you can avoid reusing accelerants from the same source in different actions. |
Used in repressive operations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Bure criminal association case | Traces of accelerants were collected from items recovered after demonstrations and analyzed[1]. |
Private source.