Full Scale Burn Test of Four Aluminum Body Ford F-150’s

Four full scale burn tests on aluminum body Ford F-150’s were conducted with four unique origins. The purpose of these burn tests was to determine if the origin of the fire could be accurately identified after the vehicle fires progressed to near complete burn (with near absence of the aluminum body panels). The points of origin for the four burn tests were: 1) Engine Compartment - driver’s side front of engine compartment, 2) Passenger Compartment - Instrument panel, driver’s side near the headlamp switch, 3) Passenger Compartment - passenger side rear seat, 4) Outside of Vehicle - passenger side front tire. Photographic, video, and temperature data was recorded to document the burn process from initiation to extinguishment. Post-fire analysis was conducted in an attempt to determine the origin of the fire based solely on the burn damage. The analysis showed that due to the lack of body structure remaining, since the aluminum body panels burned/melted, no origin could be determined for any of the four burned vehicles. As a result, with a near complete burn of an aluminum body vehicle, accurately determining the origin of a fire is not possible.