Elayne Pope’s group spends its time setting fire to corpses in a range of different circumstances, to work out exactly how the human body burns (Image: sulaco229, stock.xchng) The upper skull is usually the most charred part of the skeleton, because it has little overlying soft tissue (Image: Elayne Pope) One question the team are trying to settle is what happens when a person is trapped in a burning car (Image: Elayne Pope) A body can be completely destroyed if it is put in the trunk of a car, especially if it lies on a rubber tyre (Image: Elayne Pope) Accident or arson? Common misconceptions among fire investigators can lead them astray (Image: Michael Donne / SPL)

THE fire started with a match held under a cotton blanket close to the man’s waist. Within 2 minutes, the flames had spread across the single bed he was lying on and were consuming his cotton sweatshirt and trousers.

Around a dozen onlookers were at the scene – including police, fire investigators and death investigators – yet all they did was watch. That was, after all, their job. The “victim” had in fact died some time ago, having previously donated his remains to medical research.

His body had reached a unique team led by Elayne Pope, a forensic scientist at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Her group spends its time setting fire to corpses in a range of different circumstances, to work out exactly how the human body burns. They seem to be the only group carrying out such systematic studies in this area, and are certainly the only ones publishing their work. …