PROBLEMS IN IDENTIFYING THE USE OF NON-PETROLEUM-BASED FLAMMABLE AND COMBUSTIBLE LIQUIDS AS COMBUSTION INTENSIFIERS (ACCELERANTS)

Abstract

Current possibilities of identifying in the laboratories of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs of Ukraine of flammable and combustible liquids which can be used by offenders committing such a criminal
offence as arson are analysed, given the available instrumentation. The current state of affairs, due to both subjective
and objective factors, does not allow for the detection of the full range of these liquids. Accordingly, this makes it
impossible to establish reliably and categorically the circumstances of the occurrence and development of the event
under study, since in many cases only the fact of the use of flammable and combustible liquids in the area of the fire
centre(s) may indicate the criminal nature of its occurrence. A range of general scientific and special methods are
used in the course of the study, specifically, theoretical methods (analysis and generalisation, synthesis, comparison,
modelling), empirical methods (diagnostic, observation methods, etc.), organisational and experimental methods
(diagnostic, constatation, search, formulative, corrective experiments), modern physico-chemical, mathematical,
statistical methods of analysis, etc. The scientific novelty lies in the substantiation of the feasibility of applying an
integrated approach to the identification of flammable and combustible liquids taking into account their physical and
chemical properties, especially their instability in time (short identification period). The essence of this approach is
the two stages in determining the possible use of combustion accelerants at the fire site, firstly, prompt use of modern
portable volatile organics detectors such as Tiger XT during the initial inspection of the scene of a fire-related incident
and recording the results of the use of this device in the criminal proceedings, secondly, further forensic examination
in the laboratories of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine of traces of flammable and
combustible liquids removed from the scene. Since the practice of investigating the circumstances of the occurrence
and development of fires shows that there are numerous facts of offenders using non-petroleum-based flammable
and combustible liquids as combustion accelerants, it is proposed to consider the introduction of a new expert
speciality for the study of a wider range of flammable and combustible liquids, taking into account the national and
international experience of fire debris research according to ASTM E1618-19 “Standard Test Method for Flammable
Liquid Residues in Extracts from Fire Debris Samples by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry”. Given the
fact that the practice of establishing the presence or absence of traces of flammable and combustible liquids on carrier
objects (fire debris) removed from the fire scene is based only on the results of forensic examination in the expert
speciality 8.4 “Investigation of petroleum products and fuels and lubricants” no longer provides adequate reliability at
the present stage. At the same time, the existing instrumentation makes it possible to identify non-petroleum-based
flammable and combustible liquids. In addition, the application of an integrated approach to establishing the presence
of flammable and combustible liquids already at the scene, using portable detectors during preliminary studies, can
ensure that only those carrier objects (fire debris) which, according to the results of such preliminary studies, contain
flammable and combustible liquids are provided for forensic examination in the laboratory, which will obviously
reduce the consumption of reagents and the time of examination. It is asserted that the use in criminal proceedings of
specialist knowledge during inspections of the scene of the incident and forensic experts in performing examinations
provides an opportunity to reliably establish all the circumstances of the emergence and development of the fire.
Given the above, the methodological and technical support of forensic specialists of the National Police of Ukraine
and forensic experts of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine will provide an opportunity
to reliably establish the presence or absence of a wide range of flammable and combustible liquids at the scene of the
incident. This will be achieved, in particular, by using a new instrument base already during the initial inspections of
the scene of the fire and introducing a new expert specialty, which will methodologically allow determining a wide
range of flammable and combustible liquids of various chemical nature, and not only petroleum products.