What causes a fire to rage out of control? What makes an explosion so destructive? How do we gather and analyse evidence we normally rely upon from a scene that may have been compromised by a powerful blaze or destructive explosion? This advanced module will develop your understanding of the chemical and physical processes that drive fires and explosions. You will learn how to identify accelerants, detonators and types of explosives, reconstruct fire scenes and develop insights as to the nature of fires and explosions, allowing you to formulate expert opinions based on your findings. You’ll also learn how best to apply specialist analytical techniques to analyse fire and explosive evidence.
Lecture 28 hours, Workshop 4 hours
2 hours Test. Assessment Details: VLE Test worth 20%.
1,500 words Short Writing Piece. Assessment Details: Problem Sheet worth 20%.
2 hours Exam. Assessment Details: Exam worth 60%.
Reassessment Method: Like-for-like
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Critically discuss the physics and chemistry of fires and explosions within a forensic science context.
2. Analyse and identify accelerants, incendiary devices, detonators, taggants and explosive residues, in the context of forensic scenarios.
3. Derive how to safely and confidently manage fire and explosion scenes.
4. Evaluate observations and assessment of damage in a range of different forensically relevant settings and formulate opinions as to the causes of fires and explosions .
5. Critically assess novel techniques for the development, deployment and testing of explosives
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