Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in flash fire victims: report of six simultaneous fire fatalities without elevated...

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.