DR.

ROMAN AL MAMUN

Lecturer and Autopsy Surgeon

Forensic Science and Toxicology

Fire is an exothermic, oxidation reaction between a fuel and an oxidiser (most often
the oxygen in the surrounding air) that generates sufficient heat to be self-
sustaining and yields readily detectable heat and often light.
Fire requires four basic ingredients: fuel in a suitable form, oxygen, heat and a
chemical oxidation that causes the reaction to be self-sustaining.
Without all four, there cannot be a fire.
Fire occurs in two basic forms: flaming and smouldering.
A flame is the visible product of a fuel in a gaseous state burning in the presence of
oxygen.
It is a gas–gas reaction that is made visible by the effects of the heat produced.
A smouldering fire, in contrast, is the oxidation of a solid fuel in direct contact with
oxygen.
It is a solid–gas reaction that occurs on the surface of the fuel (and within the matrix
of a porous solid fuel like charcoal).

A living bone contains water, blood, fats and other tissues in a complicated matrix.
As the bone is heated, each of these components responds, sometimes by
evaporating, or by charring (by pyrolysis), contracting, liquefying, expanding,
burning as a ‘pool’ of liquid fuel from a surface or burning as a fuel from a porous
rigid wick.
Body fat is the best fuel in the body, but it will burn only when rendered to be
delivered to the fire from a suitable absorbent substrate that acts as a wick and
released to come into contact with air.
The bone itself dehydrates, calcinates, shrinks, delaminates and fractures.
Dehydration occurs first,followed by charring of the organic constituents.
With sustained exposure to direct flame contact temperatures (550°C or higher), the
char oxidises away. This produces what is called a ‘clean burn’ of the
noncombustible substrate.
The bone can also spall as internal moisture turns to steam, much like concrete fails
under severe heating.

Effects on soft tissue depend on the intensity and duration of the heat applied to the
surface and the thickness and thermal properties of the tissue involved.
The epidermis is easily separated from the dermis in even short duration fires (flash
fires).
The thickness, thermal conductivity and thermal inertia of the underlying layers
slow the enetration of heat.
It takes many minutes of exposure to a normal room fire before the core
temperature of the torso begins to rise (current data suggest 30–60 min).
 Properties of bone, both physical and chemical, change drastically during burning and these changes cause
difficulties in forensic identification tests.
Physical changes occurring in burnt bone, such as deformation and fragmentation due to heat-induced shrinkage,
alter the morphological indicators that are critical for anthropometric analysis of species, sex, age, and stature
estimation.
In addition to the physical alterations, heat in the burning process also induces chemical modification of bones due
to combustion and pyrolysis of chemical substances.
The degree of modification increases with rising temperatures, and includes degradation of DNA, which
compromises forensic identification techniques.

DEATHS DUE TO BURNS

(a). Photographs of the body and scene.
(b). Examine the burnt areas for signs of redness and bleb formation (antemortem signs).
(c). Estimate the extent of the burns find out which area is burnt more severely. Look for the smell of
inflammable substances.
(d). Collection of debris of burnt clothings and other articles for forensic examination to detect the
presence of inflammable substances.
(e). Collection of containers of inflammable substance. Get the services of a finger print expert to search
for prints on the containers.
(f). Request the autopsy-surgeon to look for the presence of soot in the air passages of the dead body.
(g). Request the doctor to collect a sample of blood of estimation of Carboxy hemoglobin.
This can be done in the Chemical / Forensic Science Laboratories.
These tests, (f and g) if positive, would prove that the burns were antemortem.
(h). Collection of viscera, blood and urine for chemical analysis.
(i). Vaginal swabs and smears in the case of female victims.
 FEATURES OF ANTEMORTEM BURNS
(a). Line of redness (The burnt area is surrounded by a red border due to accumulation of blood
and fluids pressed out of the burnt area.)
(b). Blister formation
(The burnt area will show blebs. This is due to the collection of tissue fluid between the layers of
skin. The blisters in burns will contain fluid. The base of the blister will be red in colour. This
blisters should not be mistaken for those seen in putrefied bodies. Due to putrefaction, gases will
collect in the skin and blisters will be formed. These blebs will contain gas instead of fluid and
the base will be pale.)
(c). Presence of soot in the air passages.(In a charred body it will be difficult to observe the line
of redness or bleb formation as the skin and deeper tissues are destroyed. In such cases due to
intense conflagration, particles of carbon will be found deposited in the trachea and bronchi. This
is seen when lot of carbonaceous materials are burnt. This indicates that the victim was alive and
breathing at the time of sustaining burns. But absence of soot does not rule out antemortem
burns.)
(d). Carboxy hemoglobin in the blood
 In charred bodies and in cases where lot of carbonaceous materials are burnt in a closed
space, carbon monoxide will be produced. If the victim was alive and breathing, the carbon
monoxide will be inhaled and this will combine with the hemoglobin of blood and carboxy
hemoglobin will be formed. This will impart a cherry red colour to blood. This can be detected
by subjecting a sample of blood to spectroscopic examination. Absence of carboxy hemoglobin
does not rule out antemortem burns.
MANNER OF DEATH ACCIDENT / SUICIDE / HOMICIDE
In order to ascertain the manner of death, a detailed investigation is necessary.
(a). Examination of the scene The scene should be examined thoroughly and meticulously. If the
scene is a closed area, find out whether there is chance of access for an outside agency. Source of
arson should be located. Containers of inflammable substances if any should be looked for. They
should be examined for finger prints and latter sent for chemical analysis. Look for disturbance
in the scene. The body and scene should be photographed preferably using colour film, wide
range and close up lenses. Stove or any such device should be preserved for forensic
examination. Look for blunt / sharp weapons in the scene.
(b). Collection of trace evidence Burnt skin, hair and other debris should be collected. Any
foreign material found in the scene should be collected and preserved.
(c). Circumstantial evidence Detailed investigation regarding the circumstances of death has to
be conducted. Witnesses should be questioned to find out the alleged time of incident,
movements of the inmates of the house including the deceased, time of consumption of last meal,
motive for committing suicide / homicide etc. Search for letters, documents etc. is also necessary.
Examine the inmates of the houses for signs of burns or other injuries on their person. (d).
Request for autopsy When the body is sent for autopsy, the following special requests shall be
made. (i). Collection of viscera, blood and urine for chemical analysis. (ii). Collection of vaginal
swab and smear. (iii). Collection of skin, hair, etc. for analysis to find out the presence of
inflammable substances. (iv). To conduct tests for the presence of carboxy hemoglobin in the
blood.
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`````````` (v). To look for the presence of soot in the air passages. The medical officer may be
questioned on the following aspects after the autopsy. (i). Probable time of death (ii). Whether
the burns were antemortem or not? (iii). Extent and nature of burns. (iv). Presence of injuries or
signs of violence. (v). Evidence of pregnancy, sexual assault etc. (vi). Regarding the stomach
contents, nature of last meal, signs of poisoning / alcohol / drugs etc. (vii). Whether there was
any smell of kerosene or other substance on the body? (viii). Whether there were any trickle
marks of such substance on the body? (ix). Area of maximum involvement of burns on the body.
(x). Whether any area of body was free from burns? (xi). If it is self immolation, probable
position of the victim.

A newly applied method for burnt bone identification, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging.

Burnt bones in forensic cases

There is a wide range of case types for which burnt bones are submitted to the forensic
laboratory,including fire victims in vehicle accidents,from mass disasters,and in house fires.
Heat-induced fragmentation of burnt bones followed by artificial crushing makes meaningful anthropological
observation difficult. Additionally, DNA analysis of severely burnt bones can be extremely difficult.

In the forensic analysis of contemporary burned human skeletal remains anthropologists use a variety
of analytical techniques to extract information from bones and teeth to aid in the reconstruction of the
events surrounding the crime.
Some of the techniques used include gross and microscopic examination as well as examination of
physical properties such as the total weight of cremains and chemical analyses of the organic and
inorganic elements of cremated remains and other trace elements found in burned bone and teeth.
Some analytical chemistry techniques include isotopic composition of bone , x-ray diffraction and
inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).
Gross examination of burned bone and teeth may include:
1)Bone and teeth color variations associated with thermal exposure.
2)Distortion of burned bone and teeth through shrinkage and warping
3)Fracture patterns.
Microscopic examination and analysis involves bone histology and the examination of fracture margins
to aid in
the differentiation of taphonomic effects of thermal alteration from perimortem trauma.
The normal burn pattern of a human body is based on three conditions:
1) That the surfaces of the body are equally exposed to the fire,
2) That at the time of heat exposure the body is fleshed with minimal progress in decomposition and
3) The body is in a position that will allow it to contract into the pugilistic pose.
As a result of the contraction of the body into the pugilistic pose,certain areas of the body (and
underlying bone) are shielded from heat exposure by the body’s soft tissue, while other areas
experience greater heat exposure.
Therefore, the underlying bone will display a recognizable color pattern that coincides with the amount
or duration and intensity of heat exposure.
Not meet the three conditions mentioned above that result in a normal burn pattern; that is, body
surfaces may not be uniformly exposed to heat, the body may not be fleshed and the body may not be
able to contract into the pugilistic pose.
Thus, when a body does not meet these three conditions a normal burn pattern on bone would not be
observed.
Analysis of the remains included gross and microscopic examination.
Gross observation included the examination of color alterations, distortion through shrinkage and
fracture patterns of bone and teeth.
The fracture margins were also microscopically examined in order to more easily distinguish between
fractures due to heat alteration and fractures due to perimortem trauma.

Coloration of burnt bones

Bone changes color drastically when it is burnt.
Since the color of the bone surface varies with exposure temperature, many researchers
have attempted to find a correlation between bone color and burning temperature in order
to establish an index for estimating the exposure temperature of questioned bone samples.
 The degree of bone coloration also varies with burning time, and a long period of burning
results in more severe color alteration.
Anaerobic burning conditions delay the coloration process.
The soft tissues of a corpse act as a physical barrier against the flames at the start of
combustion and keep bones in anaerobic conditions.
The unevenness of soft tissue thickness in the body and an unequal distribution of heat
during the burning itself often result in varying degrees of burnt bones even in the same
individual.
The correlation between bone color and temperature as follows:
a yellow-brown at 200°C, a dark brown-black at 300°C–400°C, an ash-like gray at 500°C–600°C, and a chalk-like
white at excess of 700°C.

Heat altered bone exhibits a range of colors from the lowest to the highest exposure of heat.
There are attempts to measure colors of burnt bones digitally using a colorimetry method based on the CIELAB
(LAB based color model adopted by Comission Internationale de l’Eclairage, CIE) color space.

Weight reduction of burnt bones

During burning, bone weight is reduced because of water vaporization and combustion of
organic materials which releases the carbon mainly in the form of carbon dioxide.
Complete cremation of a human body leaves approximately 2,000 and 3,000 g of cremated
female and male bones, respectively.
Though this Weight reduction is drastic up to 400°C, it tends toward a plateau at approximately
700°C, stabilizing at approximately 60% of the original weight.
According to Ortner and Turner-Walker,compact bone is composed of 14% water and 24%
organic matrix (by weight), with the remaining 62% classified as bone mineral, which would
not be released through burning. Therefore, it could be said that burnt bone loses water and
a significant amount of the organic matrix by 400°C and loses the organic matrix completely
approximately 700°C.

Shrinkage and deformation of burnt bones

Bone also reduces in volume through the burning process.
Though this is one of the major alterations occurring in burnt bones, a quantitative analysis
of volume reduction has not been established because of the difficulty of precise volume
measurement in its cracked and fragmented form. Recent X-ray computed tomography (CT)
technology enabled the digital volume measurement of complex shapes and has been
applied to volume analysis of burnt bones.
Analysis with micro-CT produced accurate volume reduction measurements of cubically cut,
burnt compact bone.
Like weight alterations described earlier, the volume do not change until 600°C, but then
decreased considerably above this temperature up to at least 1,100°C, by which tem-
perature the bone volume is almost halved.
This shrinkage occurs through a combination of losing collagen,recrystallization of the
hydroxyapatite (thus increased crystallinity),chemical alteration of the hydroxyapatite to
beta-tricalcium phosphate, and the fusion of these crystals.
This shrinkage and subsequent significant deformation causes problems for anthropometric
tests.
It was found that the histological structures needed for age estimation were identifiable in bones burnt at between
1,000°F (538°C) and 1,500°F (816°C), and at 600°C.
Because the shrinkage continues even after weight reduction has ceased, the density of the compact bone
increases at higher temperature (.500°C) and this results in bone hardening.
After an initial slight hardening occurred below 150°C, the compact bone became brittle when the combustion
weakened the collagen structures, and then hardening started at 400°C.
The hardening accelerated above 700°C, coinciding with increasing crystallinity measured as a splitting factor by the
FTIR.
Dramatic shape changes observed as spherical, hexagonal, platelets, and rosettes occur in
the growth of the crystals at above 600°C.
The formation of these unique shapes depends not only on the temperature exposure but
also on the age of the individual.
The shrinkage mechanism produces cracks in the burnt bone.
Under optical microscope observation, the minute cracks that tend to arise from the Haversian canal can be seen
above 500°C, and cracks increase in number and size at higher temperatures.

Fragmentation of burnt bones and survival of trauma

made on bones
The formation of cracks in the hardened material triggers a fragmentation.
Burnt bones exhibit fragmented forms in different degrees and this creates difficulties in the
identification attempts. One of the techniques often applied to bone fragments in the
identification process is reconstruction.
In murder cases, it is important to identify the evidence of trauma on the burnt bone, and
attempt to describe the weapon used.
Experimentally its proved cremated injured heads of dead bodies and the persistence of the
signs of ballistic, blunt force, and sharp force traumas even after burning.
The sharp force trauma (made using a saw, hatchet, and screw driver), blunt force trauma made with a hammer,
and ballistic trauma were all identifiable even in completely cremated skulls.
In relation to gunshot trauma, the soot staining that appears around a gunshot wound.
Burnt ribs after they were shot with a firearm and found that the soot stains could be identified even after being
burnt at 800°C despite their color having changed to be more yellowish.

DNA survival in burnt bones

Recent progress of DNA analysis techniques is improving its discrimination power and
sensitivity on an ongoing basis and now this technique is routinely applied to the identifica-
tion of skeletal remains.
DNA profiling was expected to be a useful tool for identifying severely burnt bones when
morphological tests would fail because of the deformation and fragmentation.
Burned Bone Fracture Biomechanics
These fracture classifications include:
1. Longitudinal
Longitudinal fractures to long bones are probably the most common of major burn
fractures, occurring regularly and predictably. As a shaft heats to the point of
evaporation
and protein denaturalisation, the bone matrix shrinks, facilitating structural failure.
2. Step
These fractures are often associated with longitudinal fractures. A step fracture will
extend from the margin of the longitudinal fracture transversely across the bone
shaft,
through the compact bone, fracturing the bone shaft at the intersection of another
longitudinal fracture.
3. Transverse
Transverse fractures differ from longitudinal fractures in that they transect
haversion
canals. Transverse fractures are also common, because fire consumes most long
bones
transversely as it progresses up the shaft.
4. Patina
These superficial fractures, seemingly less destructive than other fracture types,
appear
as a fine mesh of uniformly patterned cracks similar to those seen in old China or an
aged painting.
5. Splintering and Delamination
These fractures are characterised by the splitting away of cortical bone layers from
cancellous bone, the separation of the inner and outer tables of cranial bone, or the
exposure of cancellous bone on epiphyses and costochondral rib ends.
6. Burn line fractures
These fractures follow the burn borderline, seen clearly in reconstructions. They
separate
burned and unburned bones.
7. Curved transverse
The classic curved transverse fracture is the result of bone heating and then
cracking as
protective soft tissue and periosteum shrink, pulling the brittle surface of the
thermally
altered bone (thus also called ‘muscle shrinkage lines’).
Advanced technology for observing burnt bones
The micro-CT imaging technique is one of the most advanced technologies available for
observing the detailed morphology of small materials.
It enables us to obtain not only surface layer three-dimensional (3D) shapes of fragmented
bone but also its corresponding sliced histological image without any destructive preparation
of fragile, severely burnt bone.
The micro-CT scanning system employs two main units: a micro-focal X-ray source and a
high-resolution X-ray detector.

In general, thermal changes in teeth are similar to those made in bone.

Teeth that are exposed to lower temperatures and/or durations of heat tend to be
dark black or brown in colour.
As temperature and/or duration increases, teeth turn blue–grey, then stark and
chalky white.
This is a condition known as calcination.
At this stage, most of the protein and water have burned and evaporated and all
that remains are the inorganic materials.
However, because teeth consist of tissues of different mineral content, they do not
change uniformly.
An isolated tooth may have enamel fragments that seem unburned, although the
dentin looks black and grey.
This difference occurs because dentin has a higher content of nonmineralised
material that combusts and brings about changes in colour.
Enamel is already almost 100% mineral, so at first its changes are subtler.
The texture, or fracture pattern, found in burned teeth is also similar to that in bone,
although certain fracture types are more common in dental remains.

Burned teeth change noticeably in size.

Marked losses in tooth size with an average range of approximately 10–15%.
Dentin seems to exhibit greater shrinkage than enamel, likely due to its greater
organic content.
The remaining inorganic crystals collapse into the spaces left by the organic
material,reducing the overall size of the tooth.