ABSTRACT
The laboratory analysis of fire debris is one of the most important hypothesis tests that can be performed in an investigation, especially when the investigator forms a hypothesis that the fire was set using ignitable liquids. The Solid-phase microextraction fiber is a more active adsorber of most ignitable liquid residues than an activated carbon strip. In the classical separation technique, the debris is covered with water and boiled, and the steam and other vapors are condensed in a trap that recycles the water and allows any nonmiscible oily liquids to float on top. The development of analytical procedures has paralleled the development of standards for fire debris analysis. With the introduction of the International Association of Arson Investigators guidelines, fire debris chemists became accustomed to the idea that they needed to follow standard methods. The identification of other ignitable liquid residues requires an individual examination of the peaks in the chromatogram.
