Structure Fire
Buildings impacted by wildfire smoke, char, and ash fallout may have similar concerns or characteristics as a heat-damaged structure where there are physically burnt materials and finishes including smoke, char, soot, and ash.
Structure Fire and Wildfire
Buildings that are heat-damaged from within or from an external wildfire both require a thorough visual inspection of the structure before strategizing on accepted sampling methods. Surface sampling can be an essential component in addressing “invisible” contamination concerns and determining if any residual contamination is above the “normal” or “typical background” levels.
Wildfire
The forensic analysis of a wildfire often requires analyzing the amount of char, ash, quartz, wood, calcite/dolomite, opaque particles, and soot clusters.
Inspection and Assessment Leading to Smoke, Char, and Ash Sampling
When a thorough visual inspection and sampling are not completed, biases can occur, where false negative laboratory results can be reported.