%0 Journal Article %T Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in flash fire victims: report of six simultaneous fire fatalities without elevated carboxyhemoglobin %J American journal of clinical pathology %D 1977 %A Hirsch, Charles S. %A Bost, R. O. %A Gerber, S. R. %A Cowan, M. E. %A Adelson, L. %A Sunshine, I. %V 68 %N 3 %P 317-320 %X Eight people died in a traffic accident involving a tractor-trailer and ten autos. The accident caused a series of flash fires from ruptured gas tanks. Complete autopsies established that six of the victims died exclusively from thermal trauma; none showed an elevated blood carboxyhemoglobin concentration. Flash fire victims are exceptions to the axiom that elevation of blood carboxyhemoglobin is a sine qua non for concluding that a decedent recovered from the scene of a conflagration was alive in the fire.

Language: en

%G en %I American Society of Clinical Pathologists %@ 0002-9173 %U http://dx.doi.org/