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Contents

Preface to the Eighth Edition xxi

Acknowledgments xxvii
About the Authors xxxi
Course Description xxxiii

Chapter 1 Principles of Fire Investigation 1

1.1 Fire Investigation 2
1.2 The Fire Problem 4
1.2.1 Fire Statistics in the United States 4
1.2.2 Fire Statistics in the United Kingdom 5
1.2.3 Role of the Fire Investigator in Accurately Reporting the Causes of Fires 5
1.3 The Detection of Incendiary Fires 6
1.3.1 Reporting Arson as a Crime 6
1.3.2 Problems Associated with Estimating Incendiary Fires 8
1.4 The Need for Science in Fire Investigations 10
1.4.1 International Conference on Fire Research for Fire Investigation 10
1.4.2 National Research Council Report 10
1.4.3 The NFPA 1033’s “Big Sixteen” 11
1.4.4 The Neglected 17th Area of Fire Investigation 12
1.5 The Scientific Approach to Fire Investigation 13
1.5.1 The Scientific Method 13
1.5.2 Levels of Certainty 16
1.5.3 The Working Hypothesis 17
1.5.4 Testing the Working Hypothesis 21
1.5.5 Benefits of Using the Scientific Method 22
1.5.6 Alternatives to the Scientific Method 23
1.5.7 Legal Opinions Regarding Science in Investigation 23
1.6 Foundations of Expert Testimony 24
1.6.1 Federal Rules of Evidence 25
1.6.2 Sources of Information for Expert Testimony 26
1.6.3 Disclosure of Expert Testimony 27
1.6.4 Daubert Criteria 28
1.6.5 Frye Standard 30
1.7 Impact of NFPA 921 on Science-Based Expert Testimony 37
1.7.1 References to NFPA 921 37
1.7.2 Investigative Protocols 38
1.7.3 Case Examples of the Use of Guidelines and Peer-Reviewed Citations 39
1.7.4 Peer Review of Theory 39

vii
 1.7.5 Methodology Needed 40
1.7.6 Methodological Explanations for Burn Patterns 42
1.7.7 Methodology and Qualifications 43
1.7.8 Authoritative Scientific Testing 45
1.7.9 Peer Review and Publications 48
1.7.10 Negative Corpus 51
1.7.11 Error Rates, Professional Standards, and Acceptability 52
Chapter Review 54
Summary 54
Review Questions 54
References 54
Legal References 57

Chapter 2 The Basic Science and Dynamics of Fire 59

Part 1: Basic Fire Science 60
2.1 Elements, Atoms, and Compounds 60
2.2 The Oxidation Reaction 61
2.3 Carbon Compounds 62
2.4 Organic Compounds 63
2.5 Hydrocarbons 63
2.6 Petroleum Products 65
2.6.1 Petroleum Distillates 65
2.6.2 Nondistillates 66
2.7 Carbohydrates 67
2.8 State of the Fuel 68
2.9 Solid Fuels 69
2.9.1 Pyrolysis 70
2.9.2 Combustion Properties of Wood 72
2.9.3 Wood Products 81
2.9.4 Paper 83
2.9.5 Plastics 83
2.9.6 Changes in Materials 87
2.9.7 Metals 94
2.9.8 Coal 95
2.9.9 Combustion of Solid Fuels 95
2.10 Liquid and Gaseous Fuels 98
2.10.1 Physical Properties of Fuels 98
2.10.2 Hydrocarbon Fuels 116
2.10.3 Combustion of Liquid Fuels 118
2.10.4 Nonhydrocarbon Liquid Fuels 120
2.10.5 Alternative Fuels or Biofuels 121
2.10.6 Fuel Gas Sources 122
2.10.7 LP Gas 122

viii   Contents
Part 2: Basic Fire Dynamics 128
2.11 Basic Fire Dynamics 128
2.11.1 Basic Units of Measurement 129
2.11.2 The Science of Fire 130
2.11.3 Heat Transfer 132
2.11.4 Heat Release Rate 138
2.11.5 Fire Development 145
2.11.6 Enclosure Fires 155
2.11.7 Other Enclosure Fire Events 162
Chapter Review 168
Summary 168
Review Questions 168
References 169
Legal Reference 172

Chapter 3 Chemical Fires and Explosions 173

3.1 Chemical Explosions 176
3.1.1 Diffuse-Phase Explosions 176
3.1.2 Gases 176
3.1.3 Vapors and Vapor Density 178
3.1.4 Deflagrations 181
3.1.5 Ignition 183
3.2 Condensed-Phase Explosions 184
3.2.1 Chemical and Physical Properties 185
3.3 Types and Characteristics of Explosives 186
3.3.1 Propellants or Low Explosives 186
3.3.2 High Explosives 188
3.3.3 High Explosive Categories 189
3.3.4 Components 190
3.3.5 High-Order Explosions 191
3.3.6 Low-Order Explosions 192
3.4 Mechanical Explosions 192
3.4.1 Acid, Gas, or Bottle Bombs 193
3.4.2 Bleves 195
3.5 Electrical Explosions 195

3.6 Investigation of Explosions 195

3.6.1 The Scene Search 197
3.6.2 Speed and Force of Reaction 200
3.6.3 Scene Evaluation and Hypothesis Formation 203
3.6.4 Evidence Recovery 204
3.6.5 Laboratory Analysis 205
3.6.6 Incident Analysis 206
3.6.7 Bomb Arson Tracking System (BATS) 207
3.7 Chemical Fires and Hazardous Materials 208
3.7.1 Introduction 208
3.7.2 Regulations, Codes, and Standards 209
Contents   ix
 3.7.3 Causes of Reactive Chemical Hazards 212
3.7.4 Gases 214
3.8 Hazardous Liquids 217
3.8.1 Solvents 218
3.8.2 Petroleum Products 220
3.8.3 Miscellaneous Liquids 220
3.9 Solids 221
3.9.1 Incendiary Mixtures 221
3.9.2 Oxidizers 223
3.9.3 Reactive Metals 223
3.10 Clandestine Laboratories 224
3.10.1 Clandestine Drug Laboratories 224
3.10.2 Marijuana Cultivation 228
3.10.3 Clandestine Explosives Laboratories 229
3.11 Warning Systems 229
3.11.1 NFPA 704 System 230
3.11.2 Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation System 231
Chapter Review 232
Summary 232
Review Questions 232
References 232

Chapter 4 Sources of Ignition 235

4.1 Introduction to Ignition Sources 236
4.2 Primary Ignition Sources 236
4.2.1 Matches 237
4.2.2 Lighters 237
4.2.3 Torches 239
4.2.4 Candles 240
4.3 Secondary Ignition Sources 241
4.3.1 Sparks/Arcs 241
4.3.2 Objects/Hot Surfaces 242
4.3.3 Friction 243
4.3.4 Radiant Heat 244
4.3.5 Chemical Reaction 246
4.4 Utility Services and Appliances as Ignition Sources 246
4.4.1 Gas Appliances as Ignition Sources 246
4.4.2 Portable Electric Appliances 252
4.4.3 Kerosene Heaters 252
4.4.4 Stoves and Heaters 253
4.4.5 Oil Storage 254
4.5 The Role of Hot and Burning Fragments in Igniting Fires 254
4.5.1 Windblown Sparks 254
4.5.2 Fireplaces and Chimneys 255

x   Contents
 4.5.3 Long-Term Heating (Low-Temperature Ignition) 259
4.5.4 Trash Burners and Incinerators 260
4.5.5 Bonfires 261
4.5.6 Hot Metals 261
4.5.7 Mechanical Sparks 262
4.5.8 Firearms Residues 263
4.5.9 Exploding Ammunition 263
4.5.10 Military Ammunition 264
4.6 Smoking as a Fire Origin 264
4.6.1 Cigarettes 264
4.6.2 Bedding and Furnishings 266
4.6.3 Cigarettes and Flammable Liquids and Gases 268
4.6.4 Pipes and Cigars 270
4.6.5 Plantings 270
4.7 Spontaneous Combustion (Self-Heating) 271
4.7.1 Characteristics of Self-Heating 271
4.7.2 Self-Heating Oils 272
4.7.3 Self-Heating of Vegetation 276
4.7.4 Other Materials Subject to Self-Heating 278
4.7.5 Implications for the Fire Investigator 278
4.8 Other Sources of Ignition 278
4.8.1 Lightning 278
4.8.2 Lightning and Trees 280
4.8.3 Ignition by Electric Lighting 280
4.8.4 Ignition from Discarded Batteries 284
4.8.5 Animal Interaction with Sources of Ignition 285
4.9 Assessing Ignition Sources at the Fire Scene: The Ignition Matrix™ 287
Chapter Review 289
Summary 289
Review Questions 289
References 289

Chapter 5 Fire Scene Examination 293

5.1 Investigative Information During Suppression 296
5.1.1 Responsibility of the Firefighters 296
5.1.2 Minimizing Post-fire Damage 297
5.2 The Investigation 298
5.2.1 During the Fire 298
5.2.2 Immediately after the Fire Is Extinguished 298
5.2.3 During the Clearing of the Scene 301
5.2.4 After Cleanup 301
5.3 Fire Plumes 302
5.3.1 Fire Plume Damage Correlations 303
5.3.2 Axisymmetric Plumes 305
5.3.3 Window Plumes 305
5.3.4 Balcony Plumes 307
Contents   xi
 5.3.5 Line Plumes 308
5.3.6 Axisymmetric Fire Plume Calculations 309
5.4 Fire Patterns and Analysis 320
5.4.1 Typology 320
5.4.2 V Patterns 323
5.4.3 Hourglass Patterns 324
5.4.4 Demarcations 324
5.4.5 Surface Effects 325
5.4.6 Penetrations 335
5.4.7 Loss of Material 336
5.4.8 Victim Injuries 339
5.5 Interpreting Fire Plume Behavior 340
5.5.1 Fire Vectoring 340
5.5.2 Virtual Origin 341
5.5.3 Tracing the Fire 341
5.6 Fire Burn Pattern Tests 343
5.6.1 Fire Testing Goals 343
5.6.2 Virtual Origin 346
5.6.3 Flame Height 347
5.6.4 Fire Duration 347
5.6.5 Regression Rates 348
5.6.6 NIJ-Funded Research 349
5.6.7 Adjustments to Fire Duration 350
5.6.8 Flame Height Adjustment for Fire Location 351
5.6.9 Pool Fires and Damage to Substrates 351
Chapter Review 353
Summary 353
Review Questions 353
References 353
Legal References 357

Chapter 6 Fire Scene Documentation 358

6.1 National Protocols 359
6.2 Systematic Documentation 363
6.2.1 Exterior 373
6.2.2 Interior 374
6.2.3 Investigative 379
6.2.4 Panoramic Photography 391
6.3 Application of Criminalistics at Fire Scenes 399
6.3.1 Gridding 399
6.3.2 Documentation of Walls and Ceilings 401
6.3.3 Layering 403
6.3.4 Sieving 407
6.3.5 Preservation 407
6.3.6 Impression Evidence 408
6.3.7 Trace Evidence Found on Clothing and Shoes 410
6.3.8 Debris Containing Suspected Volatiles 412
6.3.9 UV Detection of Petroleum Accelerants 412
xii   Contents
 6.3.10 Digital Microscopes 413
6.3.11 Portable X-Ray Systems 413
6.3.12 Portable X-Ray Fluorescence 414
6.3.13 Infrared Video Thermal Imaging 415
6.3.14 MRI and CT Imaging 415
6.3.15 DNA Recovery 416
6.4 Photography 416
6.4.1 Documentation and Storage 417
6.4.2 Film Cameras and Formats 417
6.4.3 Digital Cameras 418
6.4.4 Digital Image Processing 419
6.4.5 High Dynamic Range Photography 420
6.4.6 Digital Imaging Guidelines 421
6.4.7 Lighting 422
6.4.8 Accessories 422
6.4.9 Measuring and Image Calibration Devices 423
6.4.10 Aerial Photography 423
6.4.11 Photogrammetry 424
6.4.12 Digital Scanning Cameras 427
6.5 Sketching 427
6.5.1 General Guidelines 427
6.5.2 GPS Mapping 429
6.5.3 Two- and Three-Dimensional Sketches 429
6.6 Establishment of Time 430
6.6.1 Evaporation 430
6.6.2 Drying 432
6.6.3 Cooling 432
6.7 Spoliation 433
Chapter Review 435
Summary 435
Review Questions 435
Suggested Classroom Exercises 435
References 435
Legal References 439

Chapter 7 Fires by Property Type 440

Part 1: General Principles 441
7.1 General Principles of Fire Investigation 441
7.1.1 General Considerations 441
7.1.2 Interviews with Witnesses 442
7.1.3 Interviews with Public Safety Officials 442
7.1.4 Fire Patterns 443
7.1.5 Tracing the Course of the Fire 443
7.1.6 Implications for the Fire Investigator 445
7.1.7 Analysis and Hypothesis Testing 445
7.2 General Considerations 446
7.2.1 Protected Areas 446
Contents   xiii
 7.2.2 Utilities 450
7.2.3 Electrical Ignition Sources 450
7.2.4 Arc Mapping 451
7.2.5 Appliance Condition 451
7.2.6 Trash 452
7.2.7 Detection Systems Mapping 452
7.2.8 Interior Fires from Exterior Sources 452
7.2.9 Roof and Attic Fires 453
7.2.10 Timelines 454
7.3 Collection and Preservation of Evidence 455
7.3.1 Debris Suspected of Containing Volatiles 456
7.3.2 Other Solid Evidence 457
7.3.3 Liquids 458
7.3.4 Testing of Hands 458
7.3.5 Testing of Clothing 459
7.3.6 Chain of Evidence 459

Part 2: Structural Fires 460

7.4 Examination of a Fire Scene 460
7.4.1 Search Patterns and Practices 460
7.4.2 Fire Behavior Indicators 463
7.4.3 Char Depth 478
7.4.4 Spalling 481
7.4.5 Glass 487
7.4.6 Myths and Misconceptions about Indicators 493
7.4.7 Arson Evidence 494

Part 3: Wildland Fires 499

7.5 Wildland Fires 499
7.5.1 Fire Spread 500
7.5.2 Fuels 501
7.5.3 Fire Behavior 502
7.5.4 Determination of Origin 504
7.5.5 Sources of Ignition for Wildland Fires 513
7.5.6 Collection and Preservation of Physical Evidence 519

Part 4: Vehicle Fires 521

7.6 Vehicle Fires 521
7.6.1 Functional Elements 521
7.6.2 Considerations for Fire Investigation 530
7.6.3 Combustible Materials 531
7.6.4 Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302 531
7.6.5 Miscellaneous Ignition Mechanisms 531
7.6.6 Vehicle Arson 532
7.6.7 Considerations for Fire Investigation 532
7.6.8 Protocol for Vehicle Examination 532
7.7 Motorhomes and Other Recreational Vehicles 546
7.7.1 Characteristics of Motorhomes 546
7.7.2 Fire Risk 546
xiv   Contents
 7.7.3 Propane Tanks 546
7.7.4 Considerations for Fire Investigation 547

Part 5: Manufactured Housing 549

7.8 Manufactured Housing 549
7.8.1 Construction and Materials 549
7.8.2 Considerations for Fire Investigation 550
7.9 Heavy Equipment 551

Part 6: Boats and Ships 552

7.10 Boats and Ships 552
7.10.1 Ships 553
7.10.2 Tankers 554
7.10.3 Ship Construction and Firefighting Techniques 554
7.10.4 Motives for Vehicle and Marine Arson 555
Chapter Review 557
Summary 557
Review Questions 557
References 558

Chapter 8 Forensic Laboratory Services 562

8.1 Availability of Laboratory Services 563
8.1.1 Forensic Laboratories 563
8.1.2 Fire Testing Laboratories 563
8.1.3 The Importance of Accreditation 563
8.2 Identification of Volatile Accelerants 565
8.2.1 Gas Chromatography 565
8.2.2 Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) 567
8.2.3 Sample Handling and Isolation of Volatile Residues 568
8.2.4 Identification of Volatile Residues 572
8.2.5 Interpretation of GC Results 576
8.3 Chemical Incendiaries 579
8.3.1 Improvised Mixtures 579
8.3.2 Laboratory Methods 580
8.4 Analysis of General Fire Evidence 581
8.4.1 Identification of Charred or Burned Materials 582
8.4.2 Burned Documents 582
8.4.3 Failure Analysis by Forensic Engineers 583
8.4.4 Evaluation of Appliances and Wiring 584
8.4.5 Forensic Evaluation of Smoke Alarms 589
8.4.6 Spoliation 590
8.5 Non–Fire-Related Physical Evidence 590
8.5.1 Fingerprints 590
8.5.2 Blood 592
8.5.3 Impression Evidence 594
Contents   xv
 8.5.4 Physical Matches 596
8.5.5 Trace Evidence 596
Chapter Review 599
Summary 599
Review Questions 599
References 599

Chapter 9 Fire Modeling 604

9.1 History of Fire Modeling 605
9.2 Fire Models 606
9.2.1 Spreadsheets Models 607
9.2.2 Zone Models 607
9.2.3 Field Models 609
9.3 CFAST Overview 610
9.3.1 Fire Plumes and Layers 611
9.3.2 Heat Transfer 611
9.3.3 Limitations 611
9.4 CFD Technology–Based Models 612
9.4.1 Fire Dynamics Simulator 612
9.4.2 FM Global CFD Fire Modeling 613
9.4.3 FLACS CFD Model 613
9.5 Impact of Guidelines and Standards on Fire Models 614
9.5.1 ASTM Guidelines and Standards 614
9.5.2 SFPE Guidelines and Standards 614
9.5.3 NFPA 921 Guidelines on the Use of Fire Models 614
9.6 Verification and Validation 615
9.6.1 Impact of Verification and Validation Studies 616
9.6.2 The Dalmarnock Tests 616
9.7 Historical Fire Modeling Case Studies 617
9.7.1 UK Fire Research Station 618
9.7.2 Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino Fire 619
9.7.3 King’s Cross Underground Station Fire 619
9.7.4 First Interstate Bank Building Fire 620
9.7.5 Hillhaven Nursing Home Fire 621
9.7.6 Pulaski Building Fire 621
9.7.7 Happyland Social Club Fire 623
9.7.8 62 Watts Street Fire 623
9.7.9 Cherry Road Fire 623
Chapter Review 625
Summary 625
Review Questions 625
References 625
Legal References 627

xvi   Contents
Chapter 10 Fire Testing 628
10.1 ASTM and CFR Flammability Tests 631
10.1.1 ASTM Test Methods for Other Materials 633
10.1.2 Flash and Fire Points of Liquids 635
10.1.3 Calorimetry 636
10.1.4 Test Methods 638
10.1.5 Cigarette Ignition of Upholstered Furniture 639
10.2 Physical Tests 639
10.2.1 Scale Models 639
10.2.2 Fluid Tanks 642
10.2.3 Field Tests 642
10.2.4 Full-Scale Fire Tests 644
10.2.5 Full-Scale Fire Tests Cubicle Construction 645
10.3 Types of Fabrics 646
10.3.1 Natural Fibers 646
10.3.2 Petroleum-based Synthetic Fibers 647
10.3.3 Non–petroleum-based Synthetic Fibers 648
10.4 Fire Hazards 649
10.4.1 Clothing Design 649
10.4.2 Weave and Finish 649
10.4.3 Fiber 649
10.5 Regulation of Flammable Fabrics 650
10.5.1 Overview of Federal Jurisdiction 650
10.5.2 Clothing Flammability 650
10.5.3 Flammability of Carpets and Rugs 650
10.5.4 Flammability of Children’s Sleepwear 651
10.5.5 Mattress Flammability 651
10.6 Upholstered Furniture 653
10.7 Flammability Tests for Federal Regulations 655
10.7.1 Flammability of Clothing Textiles (Title 16 CFR 1610—U.S.) 655
10.7.2 Flammability of Vinyl Plastic Film (Title 16 CFR 1611—U.S.) 656
10.7.3 Flammability of Carpets and Rugs [Title 16 CFR 1630—U.S.
(Large Carpets) and CFR 1631—U.S. (Small Carpets)] 656
10.7.4 Flammability of Mattresses and Pads (Title 16 CFR 1632—U.S.) 656
10.7.5 Flammability of Mattresses and Box Springs (Title 16 CFR 1633—U.S.) 656
10.7.6 Flammability of Children’s Sleepwear (Title 16 CFR 1615 and
1616—U.S.) 657
10.8 Considerations for Fire Investigators 657
Chapter Review 659
Summary 659
Review Questions 659
References 660

Contents   xvii
 Chapter 11 Arson Crime Scene Analysis 663
11.1 Arson as a Crime 664
11.1.1 Developing the Working Hypothesis 665
11.1.2 Multiple Fires 666
11.2 Classification of Motive 667
11.2.1 Classification 668
11.2.2 Offender-Based Motive Classification 668
11.3 Vandalism-Motivated Arson 670
11.4 Excitement-Motivated Arson 672
11.5 Revenge-Motivated Arson 674
11.6 Crime Concealment–Motivated Arson 676
11.7 Profit-Motivated Arson 678
11.8 Extremist-Motivated Arson 681
11.9 Other Motive-Related Considerations 682
11.9.1 Pyromania 682
11.9.2 Mixed Motives 683
11.9.3 Faked Deaths by Fire 686
11.9.4 Filicide 687
11.10 Geography of Serial Arson 689
11.10.1 Transition Zones 689
11.10.2 Centrography 689
11.10.3 Spatial and Temporal Trends 690
Chapter Review 697
Summary 697
Review Questions 697
Suggested Readings 697
References 697
Legal References 700

Chapter 12 Fire Deaths and Injuries 701

12.1 The Team Effort 702
12.1.1 Species of Remains 702
12.1.2 Identity of the Victim 703
12.1.3 Cause of Death 704
12.1.4 Manner of Death 705
12.1.5 Victim Status at Time of Death 705
12.1.6 Death Due to Fire versus Death Associated with Fire 705
12.1.7 Problems and Pitfalls 705
12.2 Tenability: What Kills People in Fires? 707
12.3 Toxic Gases 708
12.3.1 Carbon Monoxide 709
12.3.2 Predicting the Time to Incapacitation by Carbon Monoxide 711
xviii   Contents
 12.3.3 Hydrogen Cyanide 714
12.3.4 Predicting the Time to Incapacitation by Hydrogen Cyanide 716
12.3.5 Incapacitation by Low Oxygen Levels 717
12.3.6 Predicting the Time to Incapacitation by Carbon Dioxide 718
12.4 Heat 719
12.4.1 Predicting the Time to Incapacitation by Heat 719
12.4.2 Inhalation of Hot Gases 719
12.4.3 Effects of Heat and Flame 719
12.4.4 Flames (Incineration) 722
12.4.5 Burns 722
12.4.6 Blunt Force Trauma 723
12.5 Visibility 723
12.5.1 Optical Density 724
12.5.2 Fractional Equivalent Concentrations of Smoke 725
12.5.3 Walking Speed 726
12.5.4 Wayfinding 726
12.5.5 Smoke 726
12.6 Scene Investigation 727
12.6.1 Postmortem Destruction 727
12.6.2 Interval Between Fire and Death 727
12.6.3 Postmortem Tests Desirable in Fire Death Cases 728
Chapter Review 730
Summary 730
Review Questions 731
References 731

Appendix A Conversion of Units 734

Appendix B Mathematics Refresher 735

Logarithms 735
Dimensional Analysis 736

Appendix C Selected Material Properties 738

Glossary 743

Index 755

Contents   xix
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Preface to the Eighth Edition

More has changed in the last year in the field of fire investigation than in all the years
since the 1969 publication of the first edition of Fire Investigation by Dr. Paul L. Kirk
and the 2004 publication of the first edition of Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction.
Dr. Paul L. Kirk was a professor of biochemistry and criminalistics at the University of
California at Berkeley, but it was his specialty of microchemistry that focused his attention
on physical evidence and its analysis. In 1953, he wrote the landmark text, Crime Investi-
gation, and maintained a private criminalistics consulting practice where he became
involved in a wide variety of fire and explosion cases. He published Fire Investigation in
1969 as the first textbook on fire investigation written by a scientist rather than a fire
investigator. Dr. Kirk remained in charge of the criminalistics program at Berkeley until his
death in 1970 and launched the careers of many criminalists who now practice around the
world. His concern with using science to solve the puzzles of fires and explosions presaged
the current emphasis on using the scientific method to investigate fires by more than 30
years. It is in honor of Dr. Kirk’s pioneering work in bringing science to fire investigation
that his name remains included in the title, Kirk’s Fire Investigation, and the spirit, of this
text. No longer is the investigation of fires just limited to inspecting the ruins, asking
questions of the witnesses, and applying basic common sense and observations to deter-
mine the fire’s origin and cause. Fire investigators must now keep in step with the rapid
changes in the forensic sciences, the innovations in fire scene documentation, and chal-
lenges in the court stressing precise defensible expert testimonies.
Dr. John D. DeHaan became the author of Kirk’s in 1980, at the request of the then
publisher, John Wiley & Sons. His involvement with international fire, explosion, and
forensic professional organizations provided a wide variety of knowledge and the opportu-
nity to share techniques and information with many renowned experts. His Ph.D. research
was on the development of layers of flammable liquid vapors (University of Strathclyde,
1995). After more than 30 years however, Dr. DeHaan felt it was time for a newer genera-
tion of authors with skills in the engineering applications required of today’s investigators
to take the lead.
The eighth edition of Kirk’s Fire Investigation blends the seventh edition of Kirk’s
with the third edition of Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction. The design of this new text-
book meets the emerging forensic challenges. Kirk’s still ranks as the foremost authorita-
tive text for training as well as an expert treatise for fire investigation professionals. It also
serves as a bridge textbook providing interoperation of the concepts presented in the lat-
est editions of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Guide for Fire and Explo-
sion Investigation (NFPA 921), Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire
Investigator (NFPA 1033), and related standards of care.
The premier aspect of Kirk’s is that it maintains its role as the leading peer-reviewed
and widely cited expert treatise in the fire investigation field. Concepts and investigative
techniques presented are supported by peer-reviewed references and have already gained
general acceptance in the fire and explosion investigation field. Notwithstanding, Kirk’s
ability to assimilate and interpret emerging techniques typically outpaces the publication of
NFPA 921 and other standards of care, and can be safely relied upon by expert ­witnesses.
Because forensic fire scene documentation is emerging as the cornerstone in nearly all
judicially contested investigations, modest reconstructive efforts such as repositioning fur-
niture and other post-fire artifacts into pre-fire positions no longer suffice. Therefore,
during scene documentation, today’s fire investigator must possess skill in scientifically
based fire pattern analysis and must employ analytical methodologies based on expert
interpretation of discernible patterns and fire dynamics principles.

xxi
 Delving deeply into the forensic fire protection engineering field, this eighth edition of
Kirk’s covers engineering calculations and fire modeling, and features several exhaustive
case studies that leverage the current technology explained in depth throughout the text.
Several specialized topic areas also are covered, including use of scanning and panoramic
photography, preparation of comprehensive reports, the ignition matrix, expert testi-
mony, and computer modeling and laser imaging. Also included is an advanced discussion
of tenability.
Paving the way for those investigators who seek to take their forensic investigation
skills to the next level, this new edition emphasizes the need to use the scientific method
and details the need-to-know information behind developing a working hypothesis. Read-
ers are also thoroughly prepared for the courtroom with this guide, which teaches investi-
gators how to form and authoritatively present their expert testimony.
Kirk’s eighth edition is the most in-depth textbook in the field of fire investigation on
the subject of arson crime scene analysis and examining motive as it relates to fire setting.
For investigators seeking to gain a deeper and more advanced understanding of fire pro-
tection engineering concepts, technology, and analysis in the field of fire investigation,
Kirk’s takes readers to the next level of expertise.

About This Book

Forensic fire investigations go well beyond establishing what furnishings were present and
where they were originally placed. Fire scene analysis and reconstruction involves identi-
fication and documentation of all relevant features of the fire scene—materials, dimen-
sions, location, and physical evidence—that help identify fuels and establish human
activities and contacts. This information, placed in context with principles of fire engi-
neering and human behavior, is used to evaluate various scenarios of the origin, cause,
and development of the fire and the interaction of people with it.
This textbook is intended for use by a broad range of both public and private sector
individuals in the investigative, forensic, engineering, and judicial sectors. Intended users
include the following:
■■ Public safety officials charged with the responsibility of investigating fires;
■■ Prosecutors of arson and fire-related crimes who seek to add to their capabilities of
evaluating evidence and presenting technical details to a nontechnical judge and jury;
■■ Judicial officials seeking to better comprehend the technical details of cases over
which they preside;
■■ Private-sector investigators, adjusters, and attorneys representing the insurance
industry who have the responsibility of processing claims or otherwise have a vested
interest in determining responsibility for the start or cause of a fire;
■■ Citizens and civic community service organizations committed to conducting public
awareness programs designed to reduce the threat of fire and its devastating effect
on the economy; and
■■ Scientists, engineers, academicians, and students engaged in the education process
pertaining to forensic fire scene reconstruction.
A thorough understanding of fire dynamics is valuable in applying forensic engineer-
ing techniques. This book describes and illustrates the latest interpretations of systematic
approaches for reconstructing fire scenes. These approaches apply the principles of fire
protection engineering along with those of forensic science and behavioral science.
Using historical fire cases, both in the textbook, the authors provide new lessons and
insight into the ignition, growth, development, and outcome of those fires. All documen-
tation in the case examples follows or exceeds the methodology set forth by the NFPA in
both the 2017 edition of NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations and its
companion standard, the 2014 edition of NFPA 1033: Standard for Professional
xxii   Preface to the Eighth Edition
­ ualifications for Fire Investigator. This text includes the real-world case examples to
Q
illustrate the concepts that shed new light on the forensic science, fire engineering, and
human factor issues. Each example is illustrated using the guidelines from NFPA 921 and
Kirk’s Fire Investigation. In cases where fire engineering analysis or fire modeling is appli-
cable, these techniques are explored.
The authors acknowledge the numerous essential references from the Society of Fire
Protection Engineers (SFPE) that form the basis for much of the material included in this
textbook. These essential references, ranging from core principles of fire science to human
behavior, include the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering and many of SFPE’s
engineering practice guides.

New to This Edition

The eighth edition is one of the most adventurous editions over the last decade. Fully
updated and streamlined from the previous edition, the eighth edition of Kirk’s offers the
latest information on investigative technologies and innovative documentation techniques.
The following highlights are changes to this edition that set it apart from
previous ones:
■■ Meets the FESHE guidelines for Fire Investigation and Analysis, with correlations to
the 2017 Edition of NFPA 921 and the 2014 Edition of NFPA 1033.
■■ Emphasizes and cross-references the critical Job Performance Requirements (JPRs)
of NFPA 1033 for fire investigators.
■■ Provides background for NFPA 1033’s “Basic Sixteen” knowledge requirements.
■■ Includes the latest information on applying the scientific method to fire investiga-
tions, particularly with the use of Bilancia Ignition Matrix™.
■■ Nearly all photos are now in color, making interpretation by the reader easier.
■■ Updated, in-depth case examples demonstrate the use of forensic fire investigation
and analysis approaches.
■■ Comprehensive glossary of terms used throughout the textbook provides the latest
definitions of common forensic fire investigation terminologies.
■■ The textbook is included in required and supplemental fire investigation professional
training and certification programs by the National Fire Academy, the International
Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), and the National Association of Fire
Investigators (NAFI).
■■ Provides the essential information required in preparing for the International Asso-
ciation of Arson Investigator’s (IAAI) Fire Investigation Technician (IAAI-FIT) and
Evidence Collection Technician (IAAI-ECT) Examinations.
■■ Provides websites for both instructors and students, including problem sets from
NIST, NFPA, US Department of Justice, and the US Chemical Safety and Hazard
Assessment Board.

Hallmark Features
■■ Describes a systematic approach to reconstructing fire scenes in which investigators
rely on the combined principles of fire protection engineering along with forensic
and behavioral science.
■■ Describes the scientific underpinnings of how fire patterns are produced and how
they can be used by investigators in assessing fire damage and determining a fire’s
origin.
■■ Details the systematic approach needed to support forensic fire analysis and reports.
■■ Reviews the techniques used in the analysis of arsonists’ motives and intents.
■■ Discusses the use of various mathematical, physical, and computer-assisted tech-
niques for modeling fires, explosions, and the movement of people.
Preface to the Eighth Edition   xxiii
 ■■ Provides an in-depth examination of the impact and tenability of fires on humans.
■■ Reviews the applicable standard forensic laboratory and fire testing methods that
are important to fire scene analysis and reconstruction.

Scope of the Book

Kirk’s Fire Investigation is divided into the following chapters, which flow logically and
build on one another:
Chapter 1, “Principles of Fire Investigation,” describes the foundation and back-
ground of the rapidly developing field of determining origin and cause of fires. It presents
a systematic approach to reconstructing fire scenes in which investigators rely on the
combined principles of fire protection engineering along with forensic and behavioral sci-
ence. Using this approach, the investigator can more accurately document a structural
fire’s origin, intensity, growth, direction of travel, and duration as well as the behavior of
the occupants.
Chapter 2, “The Basic Science and Dynamics of Fire,” provides the investigator with
a firm understanding of the phenomenon of fire, heat release rates of common materials,
heat transfer, growth and development, fire plumes, and enclosure fires.
Chapter 3, “Chemical Fires and Explosions,” provides the fire investigator with a
thorough coverage of the interrelationships of chemical fires and explosions, hazard
­classification systems. Significant contributions to this chapter were provided by
Dr. Elizabeth Buc, an internationally recognized expert in the field.
Chapter 4, “Sources of Ignition,” explores existing and new methodologies of inves-
tigating and identifying competent sources of ignition. This approach uses the Bilancia
Ignition Matrix™ method to ensure that exhaustive hypotheses are systematically gener-
ated per the scientific method.
Chapter 5, “Fire Scene Examination,” describes the science and engineering underpin-
nings of how fire patterns are used by investigators in assessing fire damage and determin-
ing a fire’s origin. Fire patterns are often the only remaining visible evidence after a fire is
extinguished. The ability to document and interpret fire pattern damage accurately is a
skill of paramount importance to investigators when they are reconstructing fire scenes.
Chapter 6, “Fire Scene Documentation,” details a systematic approach needed to
support forensic analysis and reports. The purpose of forensic fire scene documentation
includes recording visual observations, emphasizing fire development characteristics, and
authenticating and protecting physical evidence. The underlying theme is that thorough
documentation produces sound investigations and courtroom presentations. The chapter
includes commentaries on new technologies useful in improving the accuracy and com-
prehensiveness of documentation.
Chapter 7, “Fires by Property Type,” describes the principles of fuels, ignition, and
fire behavior with which investigators should be reasonably familiar before undertaking
the probe of a fire. This chapter covers structural, wildland, motor vehicle, and ship fires.
It also discusses the necessity of having a clear understanding of the purposes and goals of
the investigation and a rational, orderly plan for carrying it out to meet those purposes, as
well as the value and limitations of post-fire indicators and the basic physical processes
that create them.
Chapter 8, “Forensic Laboratory Services,” describes the role of laboratory services
in fire and explosion investigation and the types of examinations that can be requested.
These include not only fire debris analysis but the application of a wide range of physical,
chemical, optical, and instrumental tools on a variety of substances.
Chapter 9, “Fire Modeling,” discusses the use of various mathematical, physical, and
computer-assisted techniques for modeling fires, explosions, and the movement of people.
Numerous models are explored, along with their strengths and weaknesses. Several case
examples are also presented.
xxiv   Preface to the Eighth Edition
Another random document with
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conducted congregation, and hoped that great good would result
from our efforts. This opposition, also, the Lord overruled to increase
our influence, and to give point and publicity to our assaults upon
the kingdom of Satan.
Though disappointed thus, some of the Publicans resolved to have
revenge. On the following Saturday evening, when a large meeting
was being addressed in our Green Street Church, which had to be
entered by a great iron gateway, a spirit merchant ran his van in
front of the gate, so that the people could not leave the Church
without its removal. Hearing this, I sent two of my young men to
draw it aside and clear the way. The Publican, watching near by in
league with two policemen, pounced upon the young men whenever
they seized the shafts, and gave them in charge for removing his
property. On hearing that the young men were being marched to the
Police Office, I ran after them and asked what was their offence?
They replied that they were prisoners for injuring the spirit
merchant’s property; and the officers tartly informed me that if I
further interfered I would be taken too. I replied, that as the young
men only did what was necessary, and at my request, I would go with
them to the Office. The cry now went through the street, that the
Publicans were sending the Missionary and his young men to the
Police Office, and a huge mob rushed together to rescue us; but I
earnestly entreated them not to raise disturbance, but allow us
quietly to pass on. At the Office, it appeared as if the lieutenant on
duty and the men under him were all in sympathy with the
Publicans. He took down in writing all their allegations, but would
not listen to us. At this stage a handsomely dressed and dignified
gentleman came forward and said,—
“What bail is required?”
A few sharp words passed; another, and apparently higher, officer
entered, and took part in the colloquy. I could only hear the
gentleman protest, in authoritative tones, the policemen having been
quietly asked some questions,—
“I know this whole case, I will expose it to the bottom; expect me
here to stand by the Missionary and these young men on Monday
morning.”
Before I could collect my wits to thank him, and before I quite
understood what was going on, he had disappeared; and the superior
officer turned to us and intimated in a very respectful manner that
the charge had been withdrawn, and that I and my friends were at
liberty. I never found out exactly who the gentleman was that
befriended us; but from the manner in which he asserted himself and
was listened to, I saw that he was well known in official quarters.
From that day our work progressed without further open opposition,
and many who had been slaves of intemperance were not only
reformed, but became fervent workers in the Total Abstinence cause.
Though intemperance was the main cause of poverty, suffering,
misery, and vice in that district of Glasgow, I had also considerable
opposition from Romanists and Infidels, many of whom met in
clubs, where they drank together and gloried in their wickedness and
in leading other young men astray. Against these I prepared and
delivered lectures, at the close of which discussion was allowed; but I
fear they did little good. These men embraced the opportunity of
airing their absurdities, or sowing the seeds of corruption in those
whom otherwise they could never have reached, while their own
hearts and minds were fast shut against all conviction or light.
One infidel Lecturer in the district became very ill. His wife called
me in to visit him. I found him possessed of a circulating library of
infidel books, by which he sought to pervert unwary minds. Though
he had talked and lectured much against the Gospel, he did not at all
really understand its message. He had read the Bible, but only to find
food there for ridicule. Now supposed to be dying, he confessed that
his mind was full of terror as to the Future. After several visits and
frequent conversations and prayers, he became genuinely and deeply
interested, drank in God’s message of salvation, and cried aloud with
many tears for pardon and peace. He bitterly lamented the evil he
had done, and called in all the infidel literature that he had in
circulation, with the purpose of destroying it. He began to speak
solemnly to any of his old companions that came to see him, telling
them what he had found in the Lord Jesus. At his request I bought
and brought to him a Bible, which he received with great joy, saying,
“This is the book for me now;” and adding, “Since you were here last,
I gathered together all my infidel books; my wife locked the door, till
she and my daughter tore them to pieces, and I struck the light that
reduced the pile to ashes.”
 As long as he lived, this man was unwearied and unflinching in
testifying, to all that crossed his path, how much Jesus Christ had
been to his heart and soul; and he died in the possession of a full and
blessed hope.
Another Infidel, whose wife was a Roman Catholic, also became
unwell, and gradually sank under great suffering and agony. His
blasphemies against God were known and shuddered at by all the
neighbours. His wife pled with me to visit him. She refused, at my
suggestion, to call her own priest, so I accompanied her at last. The
man refused to hear one word about spiritual things, and foamed
with rage. He even spat at me, when I mentioned the name of Jesus.
“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for
they are foolishness unto him!” There is a wisdom which is at best
earthly, and at worst “sensual and devilish.” His wife asked me to
take care of the little money they had, as she would not entrust it to
her own priest. I visited the poor man daily, but his enmity to God
and his sufferings together seemed to drive him mad. His yells
gathered crowds on the streets. He tore to pieces his very bed-
clothes, till they had to bind him on the iron bed where he lay,
foaming and blaspheming. Towards the end I pled with him even
then to look to the Lord Jesus, and asked if I might pray with him?
With all his remaining strength, he shouted at me,—
“Pray for me to the devil!”
Reminding him how he had always denied that there was any
devil, I suggested that he must surely believe in one now, else he
would scarcely make such a request, even in mockery. In great rage
he cried,—
“Yes, I believe there is a devil, and a God, and a just God, too; but I
have hated Him in life, and I hate Him in death!”
With these awful words, he wriggled into Eternity; but his
shocking death produced a very serious impression for good,
especially amongst young men, in the district where his character
was known.
How different was the case of that Doctor who also had been an
unbeliever as well as a drunkard! Highly educated, skilful, and gifted
above most in his profession, he was taken into consultation for
specially dangerous cases, whenever they could find him tolerably
sober. After one of his excessive “bouts,” he had a dreadful attack of
delirium tremens. At one time, wife and watchers had a fierce
struggle to dash from his lips a draught of prussic acid; at another,
they detected the silver-hafted lancet concealed in the band of his
shirt, as he lay down, to bleed himself to death. His aunt came and
pled with me to visit him. My heart bled for his poor young wife and
two beautiful little children. Visiting him twice daily, and sometimes
even more frequently, I found the way somehow into his heart, and
he would do almost anything for me and longed for my visits. When
again the fit of self-destruction seized him, they sent for me; he held
out his hand eagerly, and grasping mine, said,—
“Put all these people out of the room, remain you with me; I will be
quiet, I will do everything you ask!”
I got them all to leave, but whispered to one in passing to “keep
near the door.”
Alone I sat beside him, my hand in his, and kept up a quiet
conversation for several hours. After we had talked of everything that
I could think of, and it was now far into the morning, I said,—
“If you had a Bible here, we might read a chapter, verse about.”
He said dreamily, “There was once a Bible above yon press; if you
can get up to it, you might find it there yet.”
Getting it, dusting it, and laying it on a small table which I drew
near to the sofa on which we sat, we read there and then a chapter
together. After this, I said, “Now, shall we pray?”
He replied heartily, “Yes.”
I having removed the little table, we kneeled down together at the
sofa; and after a solemn pause, I whispered, “You pray first.”
He replied, “I curse, I cannot pray; would you have me curse God
to His face?”
I answered, “You promised to do all that I asked; you must pray, or
try to pray, and let me hear that you cannot.”
He said, “I cannot curse God on my knees; let me stand, and I will
curse Him; I cannot pray.”
I gently held him on his knees, saying, “Just try to pray, and let me
hear you cannot.”
 Instantly he cried out, “O Lord, Thou knowest I cannot pray,” and
was going to say something dreadful as he strove to rise up. But I just
took the words he had uttered as if they had been my own, and
continued the prayer, pleading for him and his dear ones as we knelt
there together, till he showed that he was completely subdued and
lying low at the feet of God. On rising from our knees he was
manifestly greatly impressed, and I said,—
“Now, as I must be at College by daybreak and must return to my
lodging for my books and an hour’s rest, will you do one thing more
for me before I go?”
“Yes,” was his reply.
“Then,” said I, “it is long since you had a refreshing sleep; now, will
you lie down, and I will sit by you till you fall asleep?”
He lay down, and was soon fast asleep. After commending him to
the care and blessing of the Lord, I quietly slipped out, and his wife
returned to watch by his side. When I came back later in the day,
after my classes were over, he, on hearing my foot and voice, came
running to meet me, and clasping me in his arms, cried,—
“Thank God, I can pray now! I rose this morning refreshed from
sleep, and prayed with my wife and children for the first time in my
life; and now I shall do so every day, and serve God while I live, who
hath dealt in so great mercy with me!”
After delightful conversation, he promised to go with me to Dr.
Symington’s church on Sabbath Day; there he took sittings beside
me; at next half-yearly communion he and his wife were received
into membership, and their children were baptized; and from that
day till his death he led a devoted and most useful Christian life.
Henceforth, as a medical man he delighted to attend all poor and
destitute cases which we brought under his care; he ministered to
them for Jesus’ sake, and spoke to them of their blessed Saviour.
When he came across cases that were hopeless, he sent for me to visit
them too, being as anxious for their souls as for their bodies. He
died, years after this, of consumption, partly at least the fruit of early
excesses; but he was serenely prepared for death, and happy in the
assured hope of eternal blessedness with Christ. He sleeps in Jesus;
and I do believe that I shall meet him in Glory as a trophy of
redeeming grace and love!
 In my Mission district, I was the witness of many joyful departures
to be with Jesus,—I do not like to name them “deaths” at all. Even
now, at the distance of nearly forty years, many instances, especially
amongst the young men and women who attended my classes, rise
up before my mind. They left us, rejoicing in the bright assurance
that nothing present or to come “could ever separate them or us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Several of them,
by their conversation even on their deathbed, were known to have
done much good. Many examples might be given; but I can find
room for only one. John Sim, a dear little boy, was carried away by
consumption. His childish heart seemed to be filled with joy about
seeing Jesus. His simple prattle, mingled with deep questionings,
arrested not only his young companions, but pierced the hearts of
some careless sinners who heard him, and greatly refreshed the faith
of God’s dear people. It was the very pathos of song incarnated to
hear the weak quaver of his dying voice sing out,—
“I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God.”

Shortly before his decease he said to his parents, “I am going soon

to be with Jesus; but I sometimes fear that I may not see you there.”
“Why so, my child?” said his weeping mother.
“Because,” he answered, “if you were set upon going to heaven and
seeing Jesus there, you would pray about it, and sing about it; you
would talk about Jesus to others, and tell them of that happy meeting
with Him in Glory. All this my dear Sabbath school teacher taught
me, and she will meet me there. Now why did not you, my father and
mother, tell me all these things about Jesus, if you are going to meet
Him too?”
Their tears fell fast over their dying child; and he little knew, in his
unthinking eighth year, what a message from God had pierced their
souls through his innocent words. One day an aunt from the country
visited his mother, and their talk had run in channels for which the
child no longer felt any interest. On my sitting down beside him, he
said,—
“Sit you down and talk with me about Jesus; I am tired hearing so
much talk about everything else but Jesus; I am going soon to be
with Him. Oh, do tell me everything you know or have ever heard
about Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God!”
At last the child literally longed to be away, not for rest, or freedom
from pain—for of that he had very little—but, as he himself always
put it, “to see Jesus.” And, after all, that was the wisdom of the heart,
however he learned it. Eternal life, here or hereafter, is just the vision
of Jesus.
Amongst many of the Roman Catholics in my Mission district,
also, I was very kindly received, and allowed even to read the
Scriptures and to pray. At length, however, a young woman who
professed to be converted by my classes and meetings brought things
to a crisis betwixt them and me. She had renounced her former faith,
was living in a Protestant family, and looked to me as her pastor and
teacher. One night, a closed carriage, with two men and women, was
sent from a Nunnery in Clyde Street, to take her and her little sister
with them. She refused, and declined all authority on their part,
declaring that she was now a Protestant by her own free choice.
During this altercation, a message had been sent for me. On arriving,
I found the house filled with a noisy crowd. Before them all, she
appealed to me for protection from these her enemies. The
Romanists, becoming enraged, jostled me into a corner of the room,
and there enclosed me. The two women pulled her out of bed by
force, for the girl had been sick, and began to dress her, but she
fainted among their hands.
I called out,—
“Do not murder the poor girl! Get her water, quick, quick!” and
leaving my hat on the table, I rushed through amongst them, as if in
search of water, and they let me pass. Knowing that the house had
only one door, I quickly slipped the key from within, shut and locked
the door outside, and with the key in my hand ran to the Police
Office. Having secured two constables to protect the girl and take the
would-be captors into custody, I returned, opened the door, and
found, alas! that these constables were themselves Roman Catholics,
and at once set about frustrating me and assisting their own friends.
The poor sick girl was supported by the arms into the carriage; the
policemen cleared the way through the crowd; and before I could
force my way through the obstructives in the house, the conveyance
was already starting. I appealed and shouted to the crowds to protect
the girl, and seize and take the whole party to the Police Office. A
gentleman in the crowd took my part, and said to a big Highland
policeman in the street,—
“Mac, I commit that conveyance and party to you on a criminal
charge, before witnesses; you will suffer, if they escape.”
The driver lashing at his horse to get away, Mac drew his baton
and struck, when the driver leapt down to the street on the opposite
side, and threw the reins in the policeman’s face. Thereupon our
stalwart friend at once mounted the box, and drove straight for the
Police Office. On arriving there, we discovered that only the women
were inside with the sick girl—the men having escaped in the scuffle
and the crush. What proved more disappointing was that the
lieutenant on duty happened to be a Papist, who, after hearing our
statement and conferring with the parties in the conveyance,
returned, and said,—
“Her friends are taking her to a comfortable home; you have no
right to interfere, and I have let them go.” He further refused to hear
the grounds of our complaint, and ordered the police to clear the
Office.
Next morning, a false and foolish account of the whole affair
appeared in the Newspapers, condemnatory of the Mission and of
myself; a meeting of the directors was summoned, and the
Superintendent came to my lodging to take me before them. Having
heard all, and questioned and cross-questioned me, they resolved to
prosecute the abductors of the girl. The Nunnery authorities
confessed that the little sister was with them, but denied that she had
been taken in there, or that they knew anything of her case. Though
the girl was sought for carefully by the Police, and by all the members
of my class, for nearly a fortnight, no trace of her or of the coachman
or of any of the parties could be discovered; till one day from a cellar,
through a grated window, she called to one of my class girls passing
by, and begged her to run and let me know that she was confined
there. At once, the directors of the City Mission were informed by
me, and Police were sent to rescue her; but on examining that house
they found that she had been again removed. The occupiers denied
all knowledge of where she had gone, or who had taken her away
from their lodging. All other efforts failed to find her, till she was left
at the Poor House door, far gone in dropsy, and soon after died in
that last refuge of the destitute and forsaken.
Anonymous letters were now sent, threatening my life; and I was
publicly cursed from the altar by the priests in Abercromby Street
Chapel. The directors of the Mission, fearing violence, advised me to
leave Glasgow for a short holiday, and even offered to arrange for my
being taken for work in Edinburgh for a year, that the fanatical
passions of the Irish Papists might have time to subside. But I
refused to leave my work. I went on conducting it all as in the past.
The worst thing that happened was, that on rushing one day past a
row of houses occupied exclusively by Papists, a stone thrown from
one of them cut me severely above the eye, and I fell stunned and
bleeding. When I recovered and scrambled to my feet, no person of
course that could be suspected was to be seen! The doctor having
dressed the wound, it rapidly healed, and after a short confinement I
resumed my work and my studies without any further serious
annoyance. Attempts were made more than once, in these Papist
closes, and I believe by the Papists themselves, to pour pails of
boiling water on my head, over windows and down dark stairs, but in
every case I marvellously escaped; and as I would not turn coward,
their malice tired itself out, and they ultimately left me entirely at
peace. Is not this a feature of the lower Irish, and especially Popish
population? Let them see that bullying makes you afraid, and they
will brutally and cruelly misuse you; but defy them fearlessly, or take
them by the nose, and they will crouch like whelps beneath your feet.
Is there anything in their Religion that accounts for this? Is it not a
system of alternating tyranny on the one part, and terror, abject
terror, on the other?
About this same time there was an election of elders for Dr.
Symington’s congregation, and I was by an almost unanimous vote
chosen for that office. For years now I had been attached to them as
City Missionary for their district, and many friends urged me to
accept the eldership, as likely to increase my usefulness, and give me
varied experience for my future work. My dear father, also, himself
an elder in the congregation at Dumfries, advised me similarly; and
though very young, comparatively, for such a post, I did accept the
office, and continued to act as an elder and member of Dr.
Symington’s kirk session, till by-and-by I was ordained as a
Missionary to the New Hebrides, where the great lot of my life had
been cast by the Lord, as yet unknown to me.
All through my City Mission period, I was painfully carrying on my
studies, first at the University of Glasgow, and thereafter at the
Reformed Presbyterian Divinity Hall; and also medical classes at the
Andersonian College. With the exception of one session, when failure
of health broke me down, I struggled patiently on through ten years.
The work was hard and most exacting; and if I never attained the
scholarship for which I thirsted—being but poorly grounded in my
younger days—I yet had much of the blessed Master’s presence in all
my efforts, which many better scholars sorely lacked; and I was
sustained by the lofty aim which burned all these years bright within
my soul, namely,—to be qualified as a preacher of the Gospel of
Christ, to be owned and used by Him for the salvation of perishing
men.
 CHAPTER IV.
FOREIGN MISSION CLAIMS.

The Wail of the Heathen.—A Missionary Wanted.—Two Souls on

the Altar.—Lions in the Path.—The Old Folks at Home.—
Successors in Green Street Mission.—Old Green Street Hands.
—A Father in God.

Happy in my work as I felt, and successful by the blessing of God, yet

I continually heard, and chiefly during my last years in the Divinity
Hall, the wail of the perishing Heathen in the South Seas; and I saw
that few were caring for them, while I well knew that many would be
ready to take up my work in Calton, and carry it forward perhaps
with more efficiency than myself. Without revealing the state of my
mind to any person, this was the supreme subject of my daily
meditation and prayer; and this also led me to enter upon those
medical studies, in which I purposed taking the full course; but at the
close of my third year, an incident occurred, which led me at once to
offer myself for the Foreign Mission field.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, in which I had
been brought up, had been advertising for another Missionary to join
the Rev. John Inglis in his grand work in the New Hebrides. Dr.
Bates, the excellent convener of the Heathen Missions Committee,
was deeply grieved, because for two years their appeal had failed. At
length, the Synod, after much prayer and consultation, felt the claims
of the Heathen so urgently pressed upon them by the Lord’s repeated
calls, that they resolved to cast lots, to discover whether God would
thus select any Minister to be relieved from his home-charge, and
designated as a Missionary to the South Seas. Each member of
Synod, as I was informed, agreed to hand in, after solemn appeal to
God, the names of the three best qualified in his esteem for such a
work, and he who had the clear majority was to be loosed from his
congregation, and to proceed to the Mission field—or the first and
second highest, if two could be secured. Hearing this debate, and
feeling an intense interest in these most unusual proceedings, I
remember yet the hushed solemnity of the prayer before the names
were handed in. I remember the strained silence that held the
Assembly while the scrutinizers retired to examine the papers; and I
remember how tears blinded my eyes when they returned to
announce that the result was so indecisive, that it was clear that the
Lord had not in that way provided a Missionary. The cause was once
again solemnly laid before God in prayer, and a cloud of sadness
appeared to fall over all the Synod.
The Lord kept saying within me, “Since none better qualified can
be got, rise and offer yourself!” Almost overpowering was the
impulse to answer aloud, “Here am I, send me.” But I was dreadfully
afraid of mistaking my own emotions for the will of God. So I
resolved to make it a subject of close deliberation and prayer for a
few days longer, and to look at the proposal from every possible
aspect. Besides, I was keenly solicitous about the effect upon the
hundreds of young people and others, now attached to all my classes
and meetings; and yet I felt a growing assurance that this was the call
of God to His servant, and that He who was willing to employ me in
the work abroad, was both able and willing to provide for the on-
carrying of my work at home. The wail and the claims of the Heathen
were constantly sounding in my ears. I saw them perishing for lack of
the knowledge of the true God and His Son Jesus, while my Green
Street people had the open Bible, and all the means of grace within
easy reach, which, if they rejected, they did so wilfully, and at their
own peril. None seemed prepared for the Heathen field; many were
capable and ready for the Calton service. My medical studies, as well
as my literary and divinity training, had specially qualified me in
some ways for the Foreign field, and from every aspect at which I
could look the whole facts in the face, the voice within me sounded
like a voice from God.
It was under good Dr. Bates of West Campbell Street that I had
begun my career in Glasgow—receiving £25 per annum for district
visitation in connection with his congregation, along with instruction
under Mr. Hislop and his staff in the Free Church Normal Seminary
—and oh, how Dr. Bates did rejoice, and even weep for joy, when I
called on him, and offered myself for the New Hebrides Mission! I
returned to my lodging with a lighter heart than I had for some time
enjoyed, feeling that nothing so clears the vision, and lifts up the life,
as a decision to move forward in what you know to be entirely the
will of the Lord. I said to my fellow-student, who had chummed with
me all through our course at college,—
“I have been away signing my banishment” (a rather trifling way of
talk for such an occasion). “I have offered myself as a Missionary for
the New Hebrides.”
After a long and silent meditation, in which he seemed lost in far-
wandering thoughts, his answer was,—
“If they will accept of me, I also am resolved to go!”
I said, “Will you write the convener to that effect, or let me do so?”
He replied, “You may.”
A few minutes later his letter of offer was in the post office. Next
morning, Dr. Bates called upon us early, and after a long
conversation, commended us and our future work to the Lord God in
fervent prayer.
My fellow-student, Mr. Joseph Copeland, had also for some time
been a very successful City Missionary in the Camlachie district,
while attending along with me at the Divinity Hall. This leading of
God, whereby we both resolved at the same time to give ourselves to
the Foreign Mission field, was wholly unexpected by us, as we had
never once spoken to each other about going abroad. At a meeting of
the Heathen Missions Committee, held immediately thereafter, both
were, after due deliberation, formally accepted, on condition that we
passed successfully the usual examinations required of candidates
for the Ministry. And for the next twelve months we were placed
under the special committee for advice as to medical experience,
acquaintance with the rudiments of trades, and anything else which
might be thought useful to us in the Foreign field.
When it became known that I was preparing to go abroad as
Missionary, nearly all were dead against the proposal, except Dr.
Bates and my fellow-student. My dear father and mother, however,
when I consulted them, characteristically replied, “that they had long
since given me away to the Lord, and in this matter also would leave
me to God’s disposal.” From other quarters we were besieged with
the strongest opposition on all sides. Even Dr. Symington, one of my
professors in divinity, and the beloved Minister in connection with
whose congregation I had wrought so long as a City Missionary, and
in whose kirk session I had for years sat as an elder, repeatedly urged
me to remain at home. He argued, “that Green Street Church was
doubtless the sphere for which God had given me peculiar
qualifications, and in which He had so largely blessed my labours;
that if I left those now attending my classes and meetings, they might
be scattered, and many of them would probably fall away; that I was
leaving certainty for uncertainty—work in which God had made me
greatly useful, for work in which I might fail to be useful, and only
throw away my life amongst Cannibals.”
I replied, “that my mind was finally resolved; that, though I loved
my work and my people, yet I felt that I could leave them to the care
of Jesus, who would soon provide them a better pastor than I; and
that, with regard to my life amongst the Cannibals, as I had only once
to die, I was content to leave the time and place and means in the
hand of God, who had already marvellously preserved me when
visiting cholera patients and the fever-stricken poor; on that score I
had positively no further concern, having left it all absolutely to the
Lord, whom I sought to serve and honour, whether in life or by
death.”
The house connected with my Green Street Church, was now
offered to me for a Manse, and any reasonable salary that I cared to
ask (as against the promised £120 per annum for the far-off and
dangerous New Hebrides), on condition that I would remain at
home. I cannot honestly say that such offers or opposing influences
proved a heavy trial to me; they rather tended to confirm my
determination that the path of duty was to go abroad. Amongst many
who sought to deter me, was one dear old Christian gentleman,
whose crowning argument always was,—
“The Cannibals! you will be eaten by Cannibals!”
At last I replied, “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and
your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by
worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and
honouring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I
am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my
resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our
risen Redeemer.”
The old gentleman, raising his hands in a deprecating attitude, left
the room exclaiming,—
“After that I have nothing more to say!”
My dear Green Street people grieved excessively at the thought of
my leaving them, and daily pled with me to remain. Indeed, the
opposition was so strong from nearly all, and many of them warm
Christian friends, that I was sorely tempted to question whether I
was carrying out the Divine will, or only some headstrong wish of my
own. This also caused me much anxiety, and drove me close to God
in prayer. But again every doubt would vanish, when I clearly saw
that all at home had free access to the Bible and the means of grace,
with Gospel light shining all around them, while the poor Heathen
were perishing, without even the chance of knowing all God’s love
and mercy to men. Conscience said louder and clearer every day,
“Leave all these results with Jesus your Lord, who said, ‘Go ye into all
the world, preach the gospel to every creature, and lo! I am with you
alway.’” These words kept ringing in my ears; these were our
marching orders.
Some retorted upon me, “There are Heathen at home; let us seek
and save, first of all, the lost ones perishing at our doors.” This I felt
to be most true, and an appalling fact; but I unfailingly observed that
those who made this retort neglected these home Heathen
themselves; and so the objection, as from them, lost all its power.
They would ungrudgingly spend more on a fashionable party at
dinner or tea, on concert or ball or theatre, or on some ostentatious
display, or worldly and selfish indulgence, ten times more, perhaps
in a single day, than they would give in a year, or in half a lifetime,
for the conversion of the whole Heathen World, either at home or
abroad. Objections from all such people must, of course, always
count for nothing among men to whom spiritual things are realities.
For these people themselves,—I do, and always did, only pity them,
as God’s stewards, making such a miserable use of time and money
entrusted to their care.
On meeting with so many obstructing influences, I again laid the
whole matter before my dear parents, and their reply was to this
effect:—“Heretofore we feared to bias you, but now we must tell you
why we praise God for the decision to which you have been led. Your
father’s heart was set upon being a Minister, but other claims forced
him to give it up. When you were given to them, your father and
mother laid you upon the altar, their first-born, to be consecrated, if
God saw fit, as a Missionary of the Cross; and it has been their
constant prayer that you might be prepared, qualified, and led to this
very decision; and we pray with all our heart that the Lord may
accept your offering, long spare you, and give you many souls from
the Heathen World for your hire.” From that moment, every doubt as
to my path of duty for ever vanished. I saw the hand of God very
visibly, not only preparing me for, but now leading me to, the
Foreign Mission field.
Well did I know that the sympathy and prayers of my dear parents
were warmly with me in all my studies and in all my Mission work;
but for my education they could, of course, give me no money help.
All through, on the contrary, it was my pride and joy to help them,
being the eldest in a family of eleven. First, I assisted them to
purchase the family cow, without whose invaluable aid my ever-
memorable mother never could have reared and fed her numerous
flock; then, I paid for them the house-rent and the cow’s grass on the
Bank Hill, till some of the others grew up and relieved me by paying
these in my stead; and finally, I helped to pay the school-fees, to
provide clothing—in short I gave, and gladly, what could possibly be
saved out of my City Mission salary of £40, ultimately advanced to
£45 per annum. Self-educated thus, and without the help of one
shilling from any other source, readers will easily imagine that I had
many a staggering difficulty to overcome in my long curriculum in
Arts, Divinity, and Medicine; but God so guided me, and blessed all
my little arrangements, that I never incurred one farthing of personal
debt. There was, however, a heavy burden always pressing upon me,
and crushing my spirit from the day I left my home, which had been
thus incurred.
The late owner of the Dalswinton estate allowed, as a prize, the
cottager who had the tidiest house and most beautiful flower-garden
to sit rent free. For several years in succession, my old sea-faring
grandfather won this prize, partly by his own handy skill, partly by
his wife’s joy in flowers. Unfortunately no clearance-receipt had been
asked or given for these rents—the proprietor and his cottars treating
each other as friends rather than as men of business. The new heir,
unexpectedly succeeding, found himself in need of money, and
threatened prosecution for such rents as arrears. The money had to
be borrowed. A money-lending lawyer gave it at usurious interest, on
condition of my father also becoming responsible for interest and
principal. This burden hung like a millstone around my grandfather’s
neck till the day of his death; and it then became suspended round
my father’s neck alone. The lawyer, on hearing of my giving up trade
and entering upon study, threatened to prosecute my father for the
capital, unless my name were given along with his for security. Every
shilling that I or any of us could save, all through these ten years of
my preparatory classes, went to pay off that interest and gradually to
reduce the capital; and this burden we managed, amongst us, to
extinguish just on the eve of my departure for the South Seas.
Indeed, one of the purest joys connected with that time was that I
received my first Foreign Mission salary and outfit money in
advance, and could send home a sum sufficient to wipe out the last
penny of a claim by that money-lender or by any one else against my
beloved parents, in connection with the noble struggle they had
made in rearing so large a family in thorough Scottish independence.
And that joy was hallowed by the knowledge that my other brothers
and sisters were now all willing and able to do what I had been doing
—for we stuck to each other and to the old folks like burs, and had all
things “in common,” as a family in Christ—and I knew that never
again, howsoever long they might be spared through a peaceful
autumn of life, would the dear old father and mother lack any joy or
comfort that the willing hands and loving hearts of all their children
could singly or unitedly provide. For all this I did praise the Lord. It
consoled me, beyond description, in parting from them, probably for
ever in this world at least.
The Directors of Glasgow City Mission along with the Great
Hamilton Street congregation, had made every effort to find a
suitable successor to me in my Green Street work, but in vain.
Despairing of success, as no inexperienced worker could with any
hope undertake it, Rev. Mr. Caie, the superintendent, felt moved to
appeal to my brother Walter,—then in a good business situation in
the city, who had been of late closely associated with me in all my
undertakings,—if he would not come to the rescue, devote himself to
the Mission, and prepare for the Holy Ministry. My brother resigned
a good position and excellent prospects in the business world, set
himself to carry forward the Green Street Mission and did so with
abundant energy and manifest blessing, persevered in his studies,
despite a long-continued illness through injury to his foot, and
became an honoured Minister of the Gospel, in the Reformed
Presbyterian Church first of all, and now in the Free Church of
Scotland, at Chapelton, near Hamilton.
On my brother withdrawing from Green Street, God provided for
the district a devoted young Minister, admirably adapted for the
work, Rev. John Edgar, M.A., who succeeded in drawing together
such a body of people that they hived off and built a new church in
Landressy Street, which is now, by amalgamation, known as the
Barrowfield Free Church of Glasgow. For that fruit too, while giving
all praise to other devoted workers, we bless God as we trace the
history of our Green Street Mission. Let him that soweth and him
that reapeth rejoice unfeignedly together! The spirit of the old Green
Street workers lives on too, as I have already said, in the new
premises erected close thereby; and in none more conspicuously
than in the son of my staunch patron and friend, another Thomas
Binnie, Esq., who in Foundry Boy meetings and otherwise devotes
the consecrated leisure of a busy and prosperous life to the direct
personal service of his Lord and Master. The blessing of Jehovah
God be ever upon that place, and upon all who there seek to win their
fellows to the love and service of Jesus Christ!
When I left Glasgow, many of the young men and women of my
classes would, if it had been possible, have gone with me, to live and
die among the Heathen. Though chiefly working girls and lads in
trades and mills, their deep interest led them to unite their pence
and sixpences and to buy web after web of calico, print, and woollen
stuffs, which they themselves shaped and sewed into dresses for the
women, and kilts and pants for men, on the New Hebrides. This
continued to be repeated year by year, long after I had left them; and
to this day no box from Glasgow goes to the New Hebrides Mission
which does not contain article after article from one or other of the
old Green Street hands. I do certainly anticipate that, when they and
I meet in Glory, those days in which we learned the joy of Christian
service in the Green Street Mission Halls will form no unwelcome
theme of holy and happy converse!
That able and devoted Minister of the Gospel, Dr. Bates, the
Convener of the Heathen Missions, had taken the deepest and most
fatherly interest in all our preparations. But on the morning of our
final examinations he was confined to bed with sickness; yet could
not be content without sending his daughter to wait in an adjoining
room near the Presbytery House, to learn the result, and instantly to
carry him word. When she, hurrying home, informed him that we
both had passed successfully, and that the day of our ordination as
Missionaries to the New Hebrides had been appointed, the apostolic
old man praised God for the glad tidings, and said his work was now
done, and that he could depart in peace,—having seen two devoted
men set apart to preach the Gospel to these dark and bloody Islands
in answer to his prayers and tears for many a day. Thereafter he
rapidly sank, and soon fell asleep in Jesus. He was from the first a
very precious friend to me, one of the ablest Ministers our Church
ever had, by far the warmest advocate of her Foreign Missions, and
altogether a most attractive, white-souled, and noble specimen of an
ambassador for Christ, beseeching men to be reconciled to God.
Stanford’s Geog. Estabt.,
London.