In the new Automotive Fire Analysis: An Engineering Approach, Third Edition, experienced field engineer Gregory Barnett points out common problems with the way automotive fires are investigated. Mr. Barnett has compiled the research undertaken to date by manufacturers, standards organizations and private institutions into one compact guide. Mr. Barnett guides you through the proper techniques of vehicle fire analysis and investigation, typical vehicle fires and burn patterns, and indicators of arson in auto fires. He teaches you how to tell the difference between flame-resistant and flammable materials, the flammable liquids contained in cars, auto electrical systems and related fires, and more. This expanded third edition contains brand new sections on alternative fuel vehicles and the types of fires associated with them, including lithium-ion batteries, supplemental restraint systems, and golf cart fires.

"This updated and expanded third edition continues the theme of the second edition of providing extensive research findings in all types of electrical fires. This book describes in a practical and easy-to-understand manner the patterns of electrical fires which make it easier to determine where an electrical fire started. Specific topics include: (1) the general background and essential elements of fire initiation; (2) codes and standards, testing laboratories approval, non-electrical fires, arc mapping and V-patterns; (3) disassembly of equipment, nameplates, equipment misuse, abuse, and repair; (4) the gathering, preserving, and shipping of evidence, keeping records; (5) common clues, melting points, and insulation degradation; (6) common components, moveable contacts, switches and relays, circuit breakers and panels, conduit joints, heating elements; (7) appliances, wall outlets and switches, light bulbs, reversed polarity; (8) arson, telephones and answering machines, igniters, debris inspection; (9) reports, depositions and trials, report purpose and appearances; (10) fire initiation and spread, space heaters, wires, and other heat-producing mechanisms; (11) fire characteristics and general precautions; (12) electrical systems and grounds, general wiring; (13) photography and camera features; (14) electrical circuits and waves; and (15) electrical power equipment, transformers, generators, rectifiers, and motors. This book is an excellent resource not only for arson investigators but for attorneys, the insurance industry, and manufacturers who are concerned with electronic reliability."--pub. desc.

This book describes several aspects of vehicle fire investigation and cause & origin analyses. Many high resolution photos are presented of actual case studies. Automotive technology is reviewed along with various causes of vehicle fires.

Battery Fires: Why They Happen and How They Happen was written to assist those interested in this type of incident understand how automotive fires develop, spread and the damage they cause, using both deductive and inductive reasoning. The main focus of the book resides in looking at differences in failure modes between DC and AC systems, general types of battery and electrical failure modes leading to fire, how to interpret electrical fire, determination of the primary failed part, and other skills the investigating engineer will require to perform technical failure mode analysis. However, some fires have consumed the evidence to the point where a determination cannot be made with any degree of certainty. In this instance, evidence will be quite limited, and the analysis will have its limitations and should be included in the discussion as such. In some cases, a “cause undetermined” report is all the evidence will support. Battery Fires: Why They Happen and How They Happen is a unique title which brings together the theory and the practice of correctly evaluating the root causes of unexpected and dangerous automobile fires.