INTERPRETATION OF ACCELERANTS IN BLOOD OF CADAVERS FOUND IN THE WRECKAGE AFTER FIRE

Accelerants in the blood of 73 cadavers found in wreckage after fire w ere analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and a combination of gas chrom atography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to decide whether accelerants cont aining petroleum components had been used and whether the cadavers had been exposed to fire before or after death. In 16 of 26 cases in whic h accelerants were used to start a fire before death, accelerants were detected in the blood. In 7 cases in which accelerants were used to s tart a fire, the victims were determined to have been exposed to the v apor of accelerants after death because no accelerants were detected i n the blood, no soot was found in the airways, and carboxyhemoglobin ( COHb) concentrations were not higher than those found in smokers. In 9 of 34 cases in which accelerants were suspected to have been used to start a fire before death, accelerants were detected in the blood. Whe n soot is not detectable by the unaided eye in the airways of a victim found in debris of a fire in which the use of accelerants is suspecte d, or the COHb concentration in the blood is no higher than in a smoke r, analysis of accelerants in the blood seems to be helpful in determi ning the cause of death and whether inflammable were used.