ASTM E2323
Definition
Standard guide for forensic engineering investigations of buildings affected by fire. Specifies minimum competency requirements for accelerant detection canine teams, including vapour concentration thresholds and distractor resistance criteria.
- Full title
- Forensic engineering investigations of fire-affected buildings
- Also specifies
- Accelerant detection canine team competency requirements
- Canine criteria
- Vapour concentration thresholds, distractor resistance
- Issuing body
- ASTM International
Common questions
Why would a building-investigation standard also cover canine detection competency?+
E2323 addresses forensic engineering of fire-damaged structures broadly, and accelerant-detection dogs are one tool used at such scenes to screen for ignitable liquid presence, so the standard sets minimum competency criteria to ensure a canine team's alerts are reliable enough to justify sampling at the location it indicates.
What is a 'distractor' in accelerant canine testing, and why does resistance to it matter?+
A distractor is a non-target scent, such as a background petroleum product or pyrolysis compound, placed to test whether the dog falsely alerts to it. Resistance to distractors is what separates a reliably trained detection dog from one prone to false positives at real fire scenes.
Related terms
- Accelerant Detection Canine (ADC)
- A dog trained by operant conditioning to alert on the vapour signature of ignitable liquids. Certified under ASTM E2323; used as a...
- ASTM E1492
- Standard Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, and Retrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science Laboratory: establishes container requirements for fire debris (metal can...
- Combustible Gas Indicator (CGI)
- An instrument that measures vapour concentration as a percentage of the lower explosive limit (LEL) using a catalytic bead sensor. Used for...
- Comparison Sample
- A sample of the same substrate type collected from an unburned area of the same room or adjacent space. Provides the substrate...
- Handler Cueing
- The unintentional communication of handler expectation to a detection dog through subtle postural, gestural, or vocal cues. Identified by Lit et al....
- NFPA 921
- US National Fire Protection Association Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. The internationally accepted methodology Indian fire investigators and SFSL fire divisions...
- Photoionisation Detector (PID)
- An electronic instrument that uses a UV lamp (typically 10.6 eV) to ionise organic vapour molecules and measures the resulting ion current....
- SWGFEX
- Scientific Working Group for Fire and Explosion Investigation. A US-based multidisciplinary body that developed best practice guides for fire debris collection, canine...
- Vapour Loss
- The escape of low-boiling hydrocarbon fractions from a sealed fire debris sample through an imperfect container seal, or by volatilisation during warm...