The Black Holes of Oakland—Unlearning the Myths

This chapter discusses the Oakland Hills Fire of October 1991, which destroyed over 3,000 homes and killed 25 people. As a forensic scientist, the author saw this tragedy as an opportunity to study the effects of complete structural burns and evaluate several “indicators of arson.” The author organized the Oakland Black Hole Baseline Project, collaborating with colleagues to survey 50 burned houses. Their findings debunked several misconceptions. The author conducted experiments that demonstrated that crazed glass is caused by rapid cooling from firefighting water, not by rapid heating. This led to a published paper on the subject and changes in fire investigation guidelines. The project's results challenged traditional fire investigation methods, causing some resistance from old-school investigators. However, the findings contributed significantly to improving the scientific understanding of fire behavior and investigation techniques.