Bain also located fabric samples in Germany that were representative of the top of the Hindenburg, where the fire started. Materials in hand, Bain headed to NASA's Materials Science Laboratory at the nearby Kennedy Space Center. Crewman Helmut Lau, on the lower left of the craft, looks up through the translucent gas cells and sees a red glow. In moments, cells begin to melt before his eyes. The fire crests the top of the Hindenburg and spreads outward and downward, toward lau and the others.
Girders start cracking and wires snap.
Work to create a chemical and physical analysis included using an infrared stectrograph and a scanning electron microscope, which provided, respectively, the chemical signatures of the organic compounds and elements present. A startling variety of highly flammable compounds proved to have been added to the cotton fabric base. The wood spacers and ramie cord used to bind the structure together, along with the silk and other fabrics in the ship, would also have added to the fuel-rich inferno. Even the duralumin support framework of the Hindenburg 's, rigid skeleton was coated with lacquer, ostensibly to protect it from moisture. In a flame test, a fabric section ignited and burned readily.