Analytical tools for the analysis of fire debris. A review: 2008–2015

•Analytical tools for the analysis of fire debris samples are critically overviewed.•The survey covers studies published during the 2008–2015 period.•New proposals for pre-treatment and analysis of fire debris samples are reviewed.•The most novel statistical tools are discussed.•The new knowledge on distortion effects on the ignitable liquids are also included.

The analysis of fire debris evidence might offer crucial information to a forensic investigation, when for instance, there is suspicion of the intentional use of ignitable liquids to initiate a fire. Although the evidence analysis in the laboratory is mainly conducted by a handful of well-established methodologies, during the last eight years several authors proposed noteworthy improvements on these methodologies, suggesting new interesting approaches. This review critically outlines the most up-to-date and suitable tools for the analysis and interpretation of fire debris evidence. The survey about analytical tools covers works published in the 2008–2015 period. It includes sources of consensus-classified reference samples, current standard procedures, new proposals for sample extraction and analysis, and the most novel statistical tools. In addition, this review provides relevant knowledge on the distortion effects of the ignitable liquid chemical fingerprints, which have to be considered during interpretation of results.

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