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Accelerants

المؤلف:  Max M. Houck، Jay A. Siegel

المصدر:  Fundamentals of Forensic Science

الجزء والصفحة:  p456-457

2026-08-19

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Accelerants

Because the fuel must normally be in the vapor phase in order to sustain a fire, many times it is surprisingly difficult to start a fire or to make one burn quickly. If one wanted to start a fire in a room where there is only wooden furnishings, it would be very difficult to do with just a match or lighter because there may not be enough heat available to provide the activation energy needed to start and sustain the fire. This is why kindling is used to start fires in fireplaces. The kindling requires lower activation energy to support combustion. The energy generated by the combustion of the kindling is sufficient to burn larger pieces of wood. In such cases, arsonists often turn to the use of accelerants; fuels that are easily vaporized and support combustion, and are highly exothermic. These liquids are poured around the area that is to be burnt and then ignited. They burn easily and the energy they emit provides the activation energy needed to get the large pieces of wood to combust. From the arsonist’s stand point, the problems with accelerants are that they often leave a residue behind even if burnt and procuring the accelerant may bring unwanted attention from citizens or law enforcement agents. This is probably why gasoline is by far the most common accelerant in the United States. People buy gasoline all of the time and it doesn’t cause any unwanted attention. Other common accelerants are kerosene, charcoal lighters, and some paint thinners. These are common consumer products that many people keep in their homes. The National Fire Protection Association has developed a classification scheme for common ignitable liquids. All of the common accelerants used in fires today are found in this scheme. All of these accelerants will leave residues after they burn, which will enable the forensic examiner to determine what type of accelerant was used in the fire. Table 18.1 contains an abbreviated list of the common accelerants in this scheme.