University Of Arkansas Researcher Finds That Tear Gas Did Not Contribute To The Fire At The Branch Davidian Complex

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A University of Arkansas researcher has determined that tear gas fired by the FBI did not feed the flames of the fire and explosion that destroyed the Branch Davidian complex and killed about 80 members of the sect in Waco, Texas, during a standoff on April 19, 1993.

The Office of Special Counsel, appointed by the Attorney General’s Office in 1999 and led by John Danforth, selected Professor Jerry Havens, an expert on gas dispersion modeling and fire and explosion hazard assessments, to assess several aspects of the events that led to the fire which destroyed the Branch Davidian complex. Havens, Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering, is director of the Chemical Hazards Research Center at the University of Arkansas.

The government revealed last year that three rounds of pyrotechnic tear gas rounds were fired hours before the fire and explosion that destroyed the compound, calling into question the government’s role in the cause of the destructive fire and explosion.

Havens was asked to predict the concentrations of tear gas, which contained CS and methylene chloride, within the compound. He was also asked to determine whether the tear gas caused or contributed to the fire in the Branch Davidian complex; and to determine the cause of the explosion and fireball that occurred at 12:26 p.m. April 19.

Havens used a computer model to predict the potential concentrations of tear gas in all rooms, halls and stairwells of the Branch Davidian complex between 6 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that day. The model estimated, among other things, the effect of wind-driven ventilation on tear gas concentrations inside the complex.

He determined that the concentrations of both gases were insufficient to create combustion. Furthermore, the temperature of any gas accumulations on surfaces was not high enough to cause it to ignite. And the gas accumulations were too small to contribute to the spread of the fire.

Havens also determined that the explosion and fireball observed at 12:26 p.m. during the Branch Davidian complex fire resulted from a boiling liquid vapor explosion of a liquefied petroleum gas tank. The tank ruptured due to exposure to the intense heat of the fire already in progress. Havens observed that the size and shape of the fireball was consistent with an explosion emanating from a ruptured tank - like the one recovered from the Branch Davidian complex fire debris.

Please see http://www.osc-waco.org/FinalReport/Contents.htm for the Office of Special Counsel’s full report.