Open AccessMicrobiological Self-Ignition as a Cause of Fire: Guidelines for Investigators and Forensic Examiners
Author(s) -
И. С. Таубкин
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
teoriâ i praktika sudebnoj èkspertizy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2587-7275
pISSN - 1819-2785
DOI - 10.30764/1819-2785-2016-4-73-85
Subject(s) - arson , fire investigation , spontaneous combustion , ignition system , peat , environmental science , flammable liquid , haystack , combustion , hay , forensic engineering , waste management , engineering , coal , chemistry , computer science , ecology , agronomy , organic chemistry , world wide web , biology , aerospace engineering , criminology , sociology
The paper presents a list of plant products prone to microbiological self-heating and spontaneous combustion. It examines the conditions and indicators of the emergence and development of these processes in hay and peat. An example from forensic casework describes fire in a haystack resulting from its microbiological spontaneous combustion. It is demonstrated that the “hay clinker” effect may arise both from spontaneous combustion and from an act of arson; therefore, it cannot be used as a differentiating feature of arson. Equations are proposed for the prediction of conditions leading to thermal self-ignition of hay and peat, with examples of calculations. The paper includes previously published data on the emission of heat by various materials at 20 °С, and their aeration, as well as data needed for the analysis of the causes of hay or peat fire resulting from their microbiological self-ignition.