WILDFIRE SMOKE SOOT DAMAGE

Smoke damage contains a particle signature of the source. House fires, forest fires, brush fires, fireplace smoke, industrial fires, cigarettes, trucks, kitchen fires, etc. all leave a characteristic signature.

This is a tape lift from a home impacted by a near approach of a large forest fire. The bright rectangular particles in this field of view are from the pyrolysis of calcium oxalate phytoliths.

This is a piece of charred Douglas fir (upper) and a hardwood from the structural wood used in this home. This particle was collected on a tape-lift taken on the second floor of a home that had a fire in the basement. This was carried upstairs by the chimney effect through the stairwells.

This is from a home impacted by a near approach of a large forest fire. There are fragments of three different species of trees in this image.

We can identify the source and if the environment (i.e home, office, school) has been impacted by smoke from that particular source.