Reconstruction of an arson hospital fire

An arson fire in a Swedish psychiatric detention clinic led to the death of two patients and injuries to many more. Rescue personnel were quick to go into the building on fire but had difficulties finding their way due to a very heavy smoke. The reconstruction made, indicates that a too easily ignitable mattress provided heat and radiation enough to ignite a PVC flooring material that then became the main source for fire and smoke. Analysis of soot from the fire site and measurements during the reconstruction show that the fire smoke contained large amounts of irritants that might have had an impact on the tragic outcome. In fact, comparing the toxicity of smoke gases produced during the reconstruction, based on different ‘toxicity indicators’, suggests that irritants in the fire smoke were as dangerous as or even more dangerous than the common asphyxiate type of gases present, CO and HCN. Another suggestion from the reported work is that the importance of flooring material for enclosure fire development might be overlooked. The reconstruction clearly demonstrates that the tragic fire would not have happened if the requirements for the flooring material had been the same as for the walls and ceiling materials. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.