ABSTRACT
The basic concepts of fire dynamics were not even set down in a single volume until 1985, when Dougal Drysdale compiled a series of lectures into his textbook entitled An Introduction to Fire Dynamics. Triangular patterns, sometimes referred to as inverted cone patterns, are the result of incompletely developed fires but do not necessarily indicate a separate point of origin. Columnar patterns, while produced by fires more developed than the fires that produce triangular patterns, usually evolve further if the fire is not extinguished. The burn pattern on the hallway floor just outside the door also exhibited features that were erroneously characterized as having been made by burning gasoline, although the investigator could hardly be blamed, as the laboratory analyst incorrectly identified gasoline on a sample of this flooring. If the object is located on the protected surface, protection patterns can be quite sharp.
