temperatures attained in fires
Structural fire
Source: Wikipedia
- house fires
- 0-500oC over 8 mins (>150oC within 5-10 mins)
- 'flashover' at 12 mins
- increase to 780oC over 55 mins before fuel used up
- NB. clothes burn at 225oC
- aircraft fires - 250oC in 5-6 mins
- flashover fires - 680oC
- car fires - 1100oC
(Richards 1977)
Vehicle fire
Source: Wikipedia
cremations
Cremation of a body
Source: Wikipedia
The sequence of the destruction of a body in a commercial crematorium (at a temperature of 670-810oC) has been described by Bohnert et al (1998):
- 10 mins - pugilistic attitute; heat contraction in flexor muscles
- 20 mins - charring of face and extremities
- 20-30 mins - fissuring of exposed outer table of the skull, suture separation, torso and extremities consumed with charring of underlying bone
- 30 mins - calvarial fractures widen and extend to inner table, internal organs are exposed and shrink, forearms destroyed, facial bones fragmented
- 40 mins - calvarium destroyed, facial bones fragmented
- 50 mins - arms destroyed, femoral 'stumps' remain, skull base exposed
- 60 mins - vertebral column calcined
- 60 mins to 1.5 hours - fragmentation
- 2-3 hours - almost complete cremation
They also noted that children were calcined in 2 hours at 500oC.
references
- Richards NF. Fire investigation - destruction of corpses. Medicine, Science, and the Law 1977; 17:79-82
- Bohnert M, Rost T, Pollak S. The degree of destruction of human bodies in relation to the duration of the fire. Forensic Science International 1998; 95:11-21