Arc mapping
Encyclopedia
Arc mapping is a technique used in fire investigation
Fire investigation
Fire investigation, sometimes referred to as origin and cause investigation, is the analysis of fire-related incidents. After firefighters extinguish a fire, an investigation is launched to determine the origin and cause of the fire or explosion...

and is usually performed by a forensic
Forensic engineering
Forensic engineering is the investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate or function as intended, causing personal injury or damage to property. The consequences of failure are dealt with by the law of product liability. The field also deals with...

 electrical engineer
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

. It relies on finding the locations of electrical arcs
Electric arc
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A synonym is arc discharge. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on...

 and other electrical faults that occurred during the fire; the locations of the electrical faults can then, under some circumstances, indicate the progression of the fire over time. The basis of the technique is the assumption that, when fire (or hot gases created by the fire) impinges on an electrical line (whether or not protected by a conduit), it will melt the wire insulation and cause an electrical fault at the first point that it reaches on the electrical line. Note that, for this to occur, the electrical line must be energized at the time that fire hits it.

The ultimate goal of arc mapping is often to determine the point of origin
Point of origin
Point of origin may refer to:* Point of Origin * Point of Origin * "Point of Origin", an episode of season 5 of the US medical drama ER* "Point of Origin" * Point of Origin , 2004...

 of the fire. A common assumption used in reaching this goal is that the fire expands uniformly in all directions as it burns, and maintains a circular shape centered on the point of origin; therefore, when an electrical fault occurs on an electrical line, the point of origin is on a perpendicular to that point. Care must be taken with this assumption, however, because in many cases, fire does not extend uniformly; in particular, large local fuel loads, venting
Venting
Venting is the debut album and sole studio album by the post-grunge/hard rock music group Five.Bolt.Main. It was released on September 13, 2005 via Rock Ridge Music. Three singles were released from the album: "Pathetic" , "The Gift" , and "Seem to Be Fine"...

, and air currents have a strong effect on fire progression.

Several other factors affect the locations where electrical faults occur. Electrical faults do not always occur where fire first reaches a conduit, but preferentially occur at bends in a conduit or locations where wires are pressed together. The elevation of an electrical line has a strong effect on its exposure to heat, since temperatures in a fire are generally highest near ceiling level, except in the immediate vicinity of the point of origin. Protection from the fire is an important consideration: being located within a wall or being covered in fiberglass insulation will offer some protection to an electrical line, and will delay electrical faults.

One must also remember that an electrical fault will only occur if an electrical line is energized -- more specifically, if two conductors are at different potentials, and have the capacity to source/sink significant current. An electrical arcing event will often (though not always) cause a loss of power downstream on the electrical line, such as by severing the conductors or tripping a circuit breaker
Circuit breaker
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and, by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow...

; as a result, a significant part of arc map analysis is determining the order in which sections of electrical lines lost power. In most cases, the electrical faults that occurred furthest downstream occurred first. Electrical faults can also energize conductors or components that are not normally energized, such as conduits (normally grounded). ("Energized" usually refers to a conductor being connected to hot power, as opposed to neutral
Ground and neutral
Since the neutral point of an electrical supply system is often connected to earth ground, ground and neutral are closely related. Under certain conditions, a conductor used to connect to a system neutral is also used for grounding of equipment and structures...

. More generally, electrical faults occur between points at different potentials, such as between hot and neutral, between hot and ground, or between hots of two different phases.)

Care must be taken to distinguish between electrical arcing and copper that melted due to the high temperatures of the fire. (The term "electrical arcing", in fire investigation, is often used to refer to "melted copper that indicates that electrical arcing occurred". "Melted copper" generally refers not to copper that is currently melted, but to "previously melted, resolidified copper".) NFPA 921
NFPA 921
NFPA 921, "Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations", is a National Fire Code published by the National Fire Protection Association . Its purpose is "to establish guidelines and recommendations for the safe and systematic investigation or analysis of fire and explosion incidents"...

 and Kirk's Fire Investigation
Kirk's Fire Investigation
Kirk's Fire Investigation by John D. DeHaan and David J. Icove has long been regarded as the primary textbook in the field of fire investigation...

give some guidelines and illustrations on distinguishing between electrical arcing and other melted copper; however, these strict guidelines are the subject of much debate.
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