Does Spontaneous Human Combustion Ever Happen— and How?

 

    In 1980, Henry Thomas, a 73-yearold man living in Wales, was found burned to death in the easy chair of his living room—the trunk of his body nearly completely incinerated, but oddly, his feet unburned and the remains of his legs still clothed in socks and pants, practically untouched by the fire. Thomas’s death was ruled “death by burning,” although no cause of the apparent fire was noted.

    

     In December 2010, the body of 76-yearold Michael Faherty was discovered burned beyond recognition in the living room of his home in Galway, Ireland. The damage caused by the fire was limited to Faherty’s burned body, the ceiling above, and the floor beneath him. The coroner concluded Faherty’s death “fit into the category of spontaneous human combustion.” Can human bodies spontaneously burst into flame without being ignited by an external source of heat? Most scientistsc would argue that humans cannot catch fire without an apparent cause. In fact, in the more than 200 cases of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) that have been reported worldwide, the true causes of death are far less fanciful than SHC.

    In a study of 30 cases of alleged SHC, investigators Joe Nickell and John Fischer showed that candles, lamps, fireplaces, cigarettes, and other sources of heat were the likely reasons for ignition. Clothing, chair stuffing, and floor coverings usually provided additional fuel sources to sustain the fire. One of the most commonly accepted explanations for alleged SHC is a phenomenon called the “wick effect.” This theory suggests that an ignition source, such as a lit cigarette, will burn through the victim’s clothing and into the skin. This releases body fat, which is absorbed into the clothing and burns like a candlewick. The fire will burn until the body’s fat and the clothing are both consumed. Scientists believe such a “self-contained” fire is the reason victims’ bodies are incinerated, yet their surroundings barely suffer damage. “SHC is a non-explanation for bizarre burning deaths, no better than positing the attack of a fiery demon,” says forensic analyst Nickell, “because there is not only no scientifically authenticated case of SHC but no credible mechanism by which it could happen.