Thermal Pattern Analysis
Thursday, June 15th, 2000 Fraud PropertyAfter a fire, thermal patterns remaining at a fire scene are an important ingredient in fire investigation. Charred wood, soot deposition, melting, spalling (chipping of masonry due to high heat) and structural deformation are examples of thermal patterns caused by fires. When performing fire cause/origin analysis, fire investigators often seek out thermal patterns to aid in determination of the fire origin. The following is a mini-encyclopedia of examples of thermal patterns, along with explanations of what can and cannot be gleaned from the analysis of thermal patterns. The classic ‘V-pattern‘ Figure 1a depicts the classic V-pattern relied upon by many investigators. When hot gases from a fire rise in a natural convection mode, as a result of heat-related gas buoyancy, the gases tend to spread out as they rise, forming a "V."
