NCJ Number
81201
Date Published
1981
Length
9 pages
Annotation
In this discussion of fire investigations where there is a fatality, victim identification, body position, and cause of death are considered.
Abstract
Victim identification can be accomplished through (1) friends or relatives viewing the body remains, (2) matching victim's fingerprints, (3) X-rays to show the victim's major operations and broken bones, (4) teeth examination, (5) the victim's clothing, and (6) a victim blood sample. The fire victim's location, position, and appearance are particularly important. Matters that should be determined are (1) location of the victim's body, (2) the location's relationship to the victim's home, (3) evidence of violence, (4) the location of the body with reference to the fire's point of origin, and (5) the victim's clothing. An examination of skin blistering can help determine whether the victim was alive or dead at the time of the fire. In addition, life at some period during the fire can be determined by examining the victim's vital organs for byproducts of combustion in the windpipe and other passages and examining blood samples for concentration of carbon monoxide. X-rays may reveal any blows to the body or unnatural injuries to internal organs. Five footnotes are provided.