Unusual aspirations in fire death.
In fire death cases the usual aspiration in the trachea and bronchi is soot, and this provides indisputable evidence that the decedent had inhaled smoke and had thus been alive in the fire. In some fire death cases, however, fire fighting material such as water or the material in the fire extinguisher, or some foreign bodies such as small metallic pieces of the melted window-frame, may be seen in the trachea and bronchi, and these unusual aspirations may provide the evidence that the decedent had been alive for a while in the flame.
Suzuki
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T
Department of Forensic Medicine, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Japan.
Takahashi
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H
Umetsu
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K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D005390:Fires; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors