Gallant, A. S. (2012). Alternate light sources in the detection of bone after an accelerated fire: A pilot study. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 57 (Note: published online ahead of print/early view in 2012, formally assigned to volume 58(S1), S221–S226 in 2013). doi.org

This 2012 pilot study by Amber S. Gallant evaluated the effectiveness of alternate light sources, specifically a portable green Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) laser (532 nm), in detecting skeletal remains heavily charred or hidden by debris after an accelerated fire. The research consisted of two parts: a controlled test burn in an abandoned farmhouse using 20 defleshed pig (Sus scrofa) bones and two heads, followed by a secondary observational study tracking a single human cremation across the five levels of the Crow–Glassman Scale (CGS). The results demonstrated 100% successful detection across both trials, revealing that while charred blackened areas did not fluoresce, exposed burnt bone elicited a bright, highly coherent "molten lava" type of appearance under the YAG laser. Although standard UV light (350 nm) also stimulated bone fluorescence, it lacked the technical discerning power to differentiate bone from background debris, whereas the YAG laser’s high-intensity, localized contrast effectively distinguished skeletal fragments from surrounding charred items (such as blankets), rendering it a valuable, non-destructive screening tool for fire scene investigators to quickly establish forensic boundaries.

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