Fire damage to electrical wiring

Figure 2a: Light micrograph of an example of arcing damage to electrical wiring category A.

From:
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy of Electrical Conductors at Fire Scenes
Nicholas Carey and Niamh Nic Daeid, Centre for Forensic Science, WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Microscopy and Analysis 24(6):5-7 (EU), 2010

Localised melting damage in electrical wiring is often observed following a fire, and is known as ‘arcing damage’. A scanning electron microscope can be used to examine a conductor in detail; this paper explores the use of a confocal laser scanning microscope as an alternative to an SEM. CLSM was used to analyse 65 samples of electrical conductor recovered from full-scale fire experiments that had also been analysed with an SEM. It was able to scan the conductor sections in approximately 25% of the time using SEM. In addition, useful three-dimensional images and surface profiles were also created with this type of microscopy.