Arson or accident?

By Tony Hargreaves2010-09-01T09:38:00

Firefighters spraying a house into a burning building

Source: Prath/Shutterstock

CSI: chemical scientists investigate

In 1985, at the Bradford City football ground, white smoke was seen emerging from beneath the terraced seating of the 77 year-old wooden building. Within two minutes the main stand was engulfed in flames. The speed of events was fast and 56 fans were trapped and died while around 200 were injured and others suffered from smoke inhalation. It was concluded that the fire was an accident and not arson. How can you tell the difference?

Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor.

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more:

unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
applications for funding to support your lessons

Set up your Teach Chemistry account

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.