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Blaze: The Forensics of Fire
Focusing on the most destructive fires of modern times, Nicholas Faith details the work of these investigators as they piece together causes of ignition, observe how fire spreads and smoke flows, and attempt to understand the behavior of those unlucky souls caught in the most fearsome infernos. Their work can convict arsonists or form the bases of legislation-making buildings safer for all of us.
Including information about the cataclysmic conflagrations at the MGM Grand and Our Lady of the Angels School, Blaze features first hand testimonies from people whose lives have been scarred by their encounters with fire. Nicholas Faith examines the fire-fighters who risk their lives tackling the blazes, and the investigators, safety engineers, and forensic scientists who scour gutted rubble heaps in the hope of understanding mankind's most complicated ally-and its most dangerous foe.
Including information about the cataclysmic conflagrations at the MGM Grand and Our Lady of the Angels School, Blaze features first hand testimonies from people whose lives have been scarred by their encounters with fire. Nicholas Faith examines the fire-fighters who risk their lives tackling the blazes, and the investigators, safety engineers, and forensic scientists who scour gutted rubble heaps in the hope of understanding mankind's most complicated ally-and its most dangerous foe.
- GenresNonfictionScience
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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125 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Faith
47 books15 followersNicholas Faith is a former senior editor for the Sunday Times and The Economist, a journalist and author.
He has written widely on wines, spirits and transport.
In 1996 he founded the International Spirits Challenge.
In September 2010 Nicholas Faith was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Bureau National Interprofessional de Cognac.
He has written widely on wines, spirits and transport.
In 1996 he founded the International Spirits Challenge.
In September 2010 Nicholas Faith was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Bureau National Interprofessional de Cognac.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 11, 2022
Blaze is an interesting book with a unique vantage... but unfortunately is uncritical and uncontextualized to the point of being dangerous.
What Blaze does really well is begin to depict the world of arson investigators. I say 'begin' as it's a relatively light glance - we get some in-depth quotes from arson investigators on historically important fires, but we never really get any sort of sociological or anthropological account of how these folks actually practice. It's just regurgitation of long passages in their own words of how they solved the mystery. Still, fire books tend to fixate on the perspectives of the firefighters or the victims, and so Blaze offers a refreshing look from a different vantage. From this perspective (its uniqueness and general readability), I'd tend to award about 3.5 stars.
It's not quite as effective in other chapters. For instance, a couple of the later chapters touch on human behaviour in fire but in a very cursory way. Many interesting observations are made (e.g., arguments against 'panic'), but they're never really tied back to sources or rigorous accounts in a way that makes them persuasive. Rather, we just get a 32,000 foot overview of some of these ideas, skipping from one cloud top to another.
But where the problems really arise are in its entirely deferential retelling of arson investigator stories. Faith elects to platform these investigators in long, drawn-out quotations, waxing poetic about their seemingly perfect ability to wade through the evidence and suss out the real arsonists. However, the scholarship on arson - and investigations more generally - reveals that this is perhaps more suspect: indeed, some would argue that parts of arson investigation can best be described as built on pseudoscience or post-hoc fallacies, and that there's not nearly as much certainty as these folks like to claim. To never once raise questions about the validity of the entire premise and framing of the book is... a choice.
As such, Blaze moves into my 1- and 2-star categories, which are reserved for books that are actively misleading. By platforming fire investigators without even a hint of critical reflection, context, or critique about their practices is dangerous in the same way cop-oganda is dangerous: it creates simple stories of right versus wrong, good versus evil, and thin blue (or red?) lines without revealing the potential for problems within this field. The only things that save this book from a one star review on this account are (a) its novelty, given how few have even thought to consider the perspective of investigators, (b) its historical context (as a 20+ year old book, it did emerge before arson investigation was really being examined critically), and (c) the lack of good accounts out there identifying some of these problems (i.e., it's hard to fault Faith for not writing the cutting expose when no one else has yet written it outside of the depths of legal journals).
What Blaze does really well is begin to depict the world of arson investigators. I say 'begin' as it's a relatively light glance - we get some in-depth quotes from arson investigators on historically important fires, but we never really get any sort of sociological or anthropological account of how these folks actually practice. It's just regurgitation of long passages in their own words of how they solved the mystery. Still, fire books tend to fixate on the perspectives of the firefighters or the victims, and so Blaze offers a refreshing look from a different vantage. From this perspective (its uniqueness and general readability), I'd tend to award about 3.5 stars.
It's not quite as effective in other chapters. For instance, a couple of the later chapters touch on human behaviour in fire but in a very cursory way. Many interesting observations are made (e.g., arguments against 'panic'), but they're never really tied back to sources or rigorous accounts in a way that makes them persuasive. Rather, we just get a 32,000 foot overview of some of these ideas, skipping from one cloud top to another.
But where the problems really arise are in its entirely deferential retelling of arson investigator stories. Faith elects to platform these investigators in long, drawn-out quotations, waxing poetic about their seemingly perfect ability to wade through the evidence and suss out the real arsonists. However, the scholarship on arson - and investigations more generally - reveals that this is perhaps more suspect: indeed, some would argue that parts of arson investigation can best be described as built on pseudoscience or post-hoc fallacies, and that there's not nearly as much certainty as these folks like to claim. To never once raise questions about the validity of the entire premise and framing of the book is... a choice.
As such, Blaze moves into my 1- and 2-star categories, which are reserved for books that are actively misleading. By platforming fire investigators without even a hint of critical reflection, context, or critique about their practices is dangerous in the same way cop-oganda is dangerous: it creates simple stories of right versus wrong, good versus evil, and thin blue (or red?) lines without revealing the potential for problems within this field. The only things that save this book from a one star review on this account are (a) its novelty, given how few have even thought to consider the perspective of investigators, (b) its historical context (as a 20+ year old book, it did emerge before arson investigation was really being examined critically), and (c) the lack of good accounts out there identifying some of these problems (i.e., it's hard to fault Faith for not writing the cutting expose when no one else has yet written it outside of the depths of legal journals).
August 19, 2018
Gripping forensic fire investigation
Book looks at key fires around the world, why they were the worst, and how they contributed to fire safety, rescue, and prevention. Reading this now in the present you have the benefit of the internet, giving you access to the full investigative reports of the fires mentioned in the book, not to mention plenty of photos and videos. It makes for a nice supplement.
Book looks at key fires around the world, why they were the worst, and how they contributed to fire safety, rescue, and prevention. Reading this now in the present you have the benefit of the internet, giving you access to the full investigative reports of the fires mentioned in the book, not to mention plenty of photos and videos. It makes for a nice supplement.
February 3, 2025
More heavily focused on the human aspects of fire emergencies, especially in the last few chapters. A good review of thoughts behind the emergency situations of fires and how humans think about them, whether as firefighters, fire investigators, arsonists, or the civilians in danger of these conflagrations.
November 17, 2023
Not much in the way of the actual forensics of fire. Lots of people talking "about" the forensics of fire.
Was hoping for something more technical.
Still enjoyed the detail in the case studies.
Was hoping for something more technical.
Still enjoyed the detail in the case studies.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews