Hookahs and smoldering hookah coals as an object of forensic fire and technical expertise

The subject of the study is to establish the involvement of smoldering hookah coals in the occurrence of a fire during the production of a forensic fire-technical examination. Currently, there is no universal concretized algorithm for determining the involvement of tobacco smoking devices and hookah coals in the occurrence of a fire for all possible cases of fire. The authors have attempted to combine well-known information about the detection of signs of exposure to combustible materials from a relatively low-power ignition source with the results of experiments and studies of smoldering hookah coals. Two types of hookah coals were selected as objects of research: cubic natural charcoal for hookah, fast-burning cylindrical coal. Cotton fabric, cotton wool, paper, wood (pine), synthetic carpet with fine pile, synthetic carpet with large pile, soft decorative elements with synthetic filling and a pillowcase made of furniture fabric, PVC floor materials (linoleum, PVC tiles), floor panels, lined with polymer films (laminate). In conducting this study, a systematic approach was applied to the analysis of the situation of a fire-related incident, as well as general scientific empirical and theoretical research methods (observation, comparison, description, measurement, analysis and synthesis, etc.) The results of empirical studies confirm the hypothesis of the formation of deep charring zones in places of contact of hookah charcoal with combustible materials (wood, laminated floor coverings). Based on the results of experimental studies, a step-by-step algorithm for constructing versions about the occurrence of a fire from smoldering hookah charcoal is formulated, including focusing the attention of an expert (a person conducting an inspection of the scene of an incident related to a fire) on the need to take into account factors such as the time of the fire and the induction period of ignition, the presence of conditions for heat accumulation, the presence of air exchange, the presence of an air inflow into the smoldering zone, the presence of signs of the dynamics of fire propagation, characteristic of low-power ignition sources. It is noted that the probability of burning from smoldering hookah coal increases in cases where conditions are created for the smoldering process to proceed with minimal heat loss, the possibility of heat accumulation and the presence of an oxidizer (oxygen in the air) in sufficient quantities.

forensic examination, fire examination, fire, hookah charcoal, inspection of the scene of the incident, smoldering, cause of fire, fire source, specialized knowledge, ignition source