Combustion particle analysis of a smokehouse following a structural fire

The problem

A shipping container repurposed as a smokehouse, using special imported wood chips from the Black Forest in Germany to smoke meat, sat adjacent to a building that experienced a major structural fire. The insurance company needed to determine if the interior of the smokehouse had been contaminated by the structural fire, rendering any further use of the smokehouse unsafe for foodstuffs. If the container was contaminated and needed to be cleaned, a seasoning process taking over 3 weeks would have been required, with a significant business interruption consequence, both reputational and financial.

The outcome

Using sophisticated light microscopy, Prezant was able to sample particulate from the building where the structural fire occurred, and identify the types of materials that burned and the residual particulate. This structural fire residue was then searched for in samples taken from the interior of the smokehouse container. Only the residue from the burning of the Black Forest wood chips was able to be identified inside the container, and no residue consistent with the structural fire was present. The container was able to be utilised immediately with no business interruption.