Seat of the fire
Definition
The point of ignition or the area of maximum burn intensity, identified by fire investigators from char patterns, spalling, and burning vectors. The seat is the reference point for interpreting body position and burn severity gradients.
Related terms
- Burn deposit stratigraphy
- The layered sequence of ash, charcoal, collapsed structural elements, and debris produced by a fire, recording the temporal order of combustion events...
- Calcined bone
- Bone heated to above approximately 700°C, resulting in complete combustion of the organic component (collagen), leaving only mineral hydroxyapatite; characterised by white...
- Peri-mortem burning
- Burning that occurred at or very close to the time of death, while green (fresh) bone still contains its organic matrix. Distinguished...
- Pugilistic posture
- The post-mortem flexion of the limbs and clenching of the hands caused by heat-induced differential contraction of flexor muscles. It indicates exposure...
- Wet sieving
- The process of washing material through a mesh with water to separate and recover small fragments. Preferred for fire debris that has...
Explained in
- Fire-Scene ArchaeologyThe point of ignition or the area of maximum burn intensity, identified by fire investigators from char patterns, spalling, and burning vectors. The seat is th...