Time-dependent changes in chemical composition and detectable period by GC/MS of petroleum-based liquid fuel residues from fire debris of various floor materials

Time-dependant change in compositions of ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) from fire debris samples prepared from three common flooring materials (i.e., wood flooring, carpet on wood flooring, and tatami) burned with gasoline or kerosene were examined, and their detectable periods were evaluated in gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis with NeedlEx®. The results revealed that the type of flooring material affected the compositions and evaporation rates of each ILR. Whereas ILRs from debris burned with gasoline showed different compositions from a simply evaporated gasoline reference, ILRs from debris burned with kerosene showed considerable similarity to the evaporated kerosene reference. The detectable periods of dynamic headspace extraction revealed in GC/MS analysis with NeedlEx® also far exceeded the periods of detector tubes.