Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in flash fire victims: report of six simultaneous fire fatalities without elevated carboxyhemoglobin.
Eight people died in a traffic accident involving a tractor-trailer and ten autos. The accident caused a series of flash fires from ruptured gas tanks. Complete autopsies established that six of the victims died exclusively from thermal trauma; none showed an elevated blood carboxyhemoglobin concentration. Flash fire victims are exceptions to the axiom that elevation of blood carboxyhemoglobin is a sine qua non for concluding that a decedent recovered from the scene of a conflagration was alive in the fire.
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002056:Burns / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009820:Ohio; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D012907:Smoking
D006454:Hemoglobins; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin