| Special Report: Clues from smoke stains and soot Smoke stains can help investigators determine where contents were located during a fire by studying protected areas, but did you know you can also use smoke stains to determine a fire’s origin?
Figure 1. A minor cigarette fire burned one end of this sofa, but close inspection showed it wasn’t in the house at the time of a fire. The sofa had been placed outdoors after an earlier fire and showed no signs of smoke stains from the second fire.
Figure 2. Smoke trapped beneath the floors often vents through the floor at any opening, such as this return-air register. You’ll want to be sure the openings are for return air not supply air. Smoke staining above supply-air registers may simply indicate the furnace blower was operating at the time of the fire. © Fire Findings, LLC. |
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