ABSTRACT
The moist environment can cause unintentional "sneak" circuits and corrosion and can even activate preexisting manufacturing contaminants that not only can cause malfunction of the device but also produce localized ignition and fire. With the legal system demanding ever-increasing levels of sophistication in the analysis of fire evidence, the fire investigation laboratory is required to perform all kinds of examinations and experiments beyond the detection of ignitable liquid residues. The gas company eventually accepted responsibility for the fire. The experiment with the computer was less of an examination of the physical evidence and more of an examination of a proposed ignition scenario. When the electronic device is subjected to excessive humidity and moisture, malfunction and even localized ignition of the circuit board can occur as a result of the activation of entrapped flux contamination and weak organic acids left over from the circuit board manufacturing process.
