After the Smoke Clears

Arson is the leading cause of fires and the second leading cause of fire deaths in the U.S. But the methods used to detect and identify accelerants (flammable liquids used to start fires) require sending samples to a lab. (It's a wonder of modern analysis that the accelerants can be differentiated, given that many ignitable liquids comprise similar components in differing concentrations and the lab has only the burnt residue to test.) A new method called gas chromatography-differential mobility spectrometry (GC-DMS) offers fast, highly accurate results. Enter a new era of forensics in fire fighting. Researchers say the instrumentation could be made portable. Could portable early detection of ignitable fluids help industry in other ways?

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