A pick-up truck was reported stolen/missing to the police and was later discovered to have been involved in a fire. The fire was investigated by the fire department and the cause was undetermined. Garrett Forensics was called in by the insurance company to conduct an independent investigation into the cause of the fire.
Fire and intensity patterns clearly indicated that the most probable area of origin of the fire was inside the passenger space of the vehicle. And so the investigation began…
Garrett’s Fire Investigator conducted a meticulous removal of the fire debris on the floorboards to further examine fire intensity, movement patterns, and to evaluate ignition sources in the vehicle.
An electronic combustible gas detector was the tool of choice used throughout the passenger space to discover the presence of an ignitable liquid. The detector signaled a faint response on the front passenger floorboard and he zoned in to focus his examination to this more specific area of origin.
He painstakingly pulled apart the melted plastic remnants of the dashboard and windshield on the passenger side front floorboard. And it was there that he solved the mystery.
He observed what appeared to be a glass bottle with singed gold foil wrapping around the neck of the bottle. His extensive experience in the field led him to recognize this as possibly a beer bottle.
As he continued to carefully excavate the area, the glass bottle suddenly fragmented and he was met with an instantaneous and prominent odor of an unknown ignitable liquid.
His vast training led him to believe the odor was consistent with that of an acetone or paint thinner type product. He immediately re-deployed his electronic combustible gas detector and (this time!) received a maximum confirmation of a combustible gas emitting from inside the bottle.
As he cautiously continued to examine the mysterious bottle, he detected what appeared to be a twisted cloth-like wick inside the neck of the bottle. And then he suddenly knew… he had discovered a Molotov cocktail.
His years of experience had taught him that if he could carefully remove the bottle, he may be able to uncover even more evidence; such as fingerprints and DNA that could still be present on the bottle. He collected the evidence and passed it on to the local officials, *where he was then promptly raised to their shoulders, met with a cacophony of cheers, and celebrated as a local hero. (*Garrett Forensics can neither confirm or deny this aspect of the story)
How it ended…
It was determined that this fire was No accident. The origin of the fire was clearly inside the passenger cab. The presence of ignitable liquid positioned in what he recognized as a Molotov cocktail was discovered in the passenger side floorboard and the cause of the fire was determined. Case Closed.
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