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Abstract

Five liquid fire accelerants were studied in their effects on blood detection in attempts to yield presumptive accelerant indicators to benefit fire scene investigators. The experiment involved burning different accelerant types via a 1:1 pig blood and accelerant ratio on cloth squares in trials of three, and then presumptively testing for blood using luminol. Luminol was selected for its sensitivity, subjectivity, and previous use in arson fire and thermal studies. For this study, accelerants were determined to have positive presumptive blood detection if detectable by camera for documentation. Presumptive blood detection of the accelerants resulted in: paint thinner with detection in all three trials, kerosene with no detection, and detection in two trials from the rest of the accelerants. Burn times did not influence whether an accelerant had stronger or weaker blood detection. The results indicated that items blackened after being burnt with a fire accelerant are less likely to achieve chemiluminescence from direct application of luminol, even if blood was or is present on the item, while detection is possible on non-charred areas, given that accelerant and blood amount are roughly a 1:1 ratio. Based on the limited conditions of the experiment, the results of this research can be used as an additional instructional guide as to what the presented accelerants' effects on blood detection can include, but cannot be used as leading indicators of the presented accelerants.

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