Health

Irish Man Dies of Spontaneous Combustion?

A body is found burned at home. Investigators cannot find the source of what started the fire, except…the body itself.

Such is the most recent case — there have actually been many reported over the last 300 years — of an Irish man who was burned to death. After a year of investigation, forensic analysts couldn’t find an alternative source of the fire. Conclusion: he spontaneously combusted. BBC has more:

Michael Faherty, 76, died at his home at Clareview Park, Ballybane, Galway on 22 December 2010.

[...]

Forensic experts found a fire in the fireplace of the sitting room where the badly burnt body was found had not been the cause of the blaze that killed Mr Faherty.

The court was told that no trace of an accelerant had been found and there had been nothing to suggest foul play.

The court heard Mr Faherty had been found lying on his back with his head closest to an open fireplace.

The fire had been confined to the sitting room. The only damage was to the body, which was totally burnt, the ceiling above him and the floor underneath him.

[...]

“This fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation,” he said.

One of the curious trademarks of cases labeled spontaneous combustion is that much of the surrounding area is left untouched by the fire — it seems to only be contained to the body and things it was immediately touching.

But can a body really spontaneously combust? This is a popular question on the web. There is a Wikipedia post on spontaneous human combustion and “How Stuff Works” by Discovery has written on the topic, along with several other sites. Charles Dickens even wrote a novel – Bleak House — on the premise that excessive intake of alcohol could result in spontaneous combustion. And there are also a slew of YouTube videos on “SHC”; the Discovery Channel investigated the issue in a five-part series.

How about this video from a special on Spike? The host of the show notes, “Mainstream science says it couldn’t happen. But mainstream science, has been wrong before”:

The Wikipedia article records that not everyone dies if they are spontaneously ignited — it’s not always an engulfing flame. One such case was of Debbie Clark in 1985 who recounted the event:

“It was me. I was lighting up the driveway every couple of steps. As we got into the garden I thought it was funny at that point. I was walking around in circles saying: ‘look at this, mum, look!‘ She started screaming and my brother came to the door and started screaming and shouting ’Have you never heard of spontaneous human combustion?’” Her mother, Dianne Clark, responded: “I screamed at her to get her shoes off and it [the flashes] kept going so I hassled her through and got her into the bath. I thought that the bath is wired to earth. It was a blue light you know what they call electric blue. She thought it was fun, she was laughing.”

According to “How Stuff Works”, many theories exist as to how spontaneous human combustion could occur:

One of the most popular proposes that the fire is sparked when methane (a flammable gas produced when plants decompose) builds up in the intestines and is ignited by enzymes (proteins in the body that act as catalysts to induce and speed up chemical reactions). Yet most victims of spontaneous human combustion suffer greater damage to the outside of their body than to their internal organs, which seems to go against this theory.

Other theories speculate that the fire begins as a result of a buildup of static electricity inside the body or from an external geomagnetic force exerted on the body. A self-proclaimed expert on spontaneous human combustion, Larry Arnold, has suggested that the phenomenon is the work of a new subatomic particle called a pyroton, which he says interacts with cells to create a mini-explosion. But no scientific evidence proves the existence of this particle.

But, scientific skeptics say there has to be a source of the combustion aside from the body. BBC reported pathologist Mike Green as saying that this source, such as a lighter or cigarette, was probably just too badly burned to be found.

[H/T Gawker]

A video has been deleted from the original post.

Comments (124)

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  • whatthecrazy
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:20pm

    Ouch burns suck cant imagine the pain

    Report Post »  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:13am

      “intestinal gases”….sounds like a “volatile fart” to me…..(i must say, “i’ve been close”) wood stove’s can kill !!! (eat more broccoli)…lol

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
    • platitude
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 2:24am

      the blaze has turned into the national enquirorer. This is yellow journalism!

      Report Post » platitude  
    • jzs
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 3:13am

      Sure it’s true. Happens to me all the time.

      Report Post » jzs  
    • LAM2
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 3:31am

      Poor chap. Guess we now can start referring to him as The Blaze.

      Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 8:42am

      My brother used to light his f a r t s on purpose! And I had a dog that would set off the gas detector if he laid close to it and let one loose.

      Report Post »  
    • Pigpen
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 8:06pm

      This headline should read: “Do the Editors at TheBlaze Have Contempt for Their Own Readers?“ It is amazing to me how these ”Weekly World News“ tabloid articles keep making it onto theBlaze without anyone asking ”Liz” and the rest of gang: WTF? I guess you HuffPo rejects think that you are just ever so clever in showing just how much contempt you really have for us hoi-palloi by furtively salting the article stream with these “Elvis Had My Baby”-type tabloid rubbish.

      Report Post » Pigpen  
  • ChiefGeorge
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:13pm

    HA HA very lame!

    Report Post » ChiefGeorge  
  • Steelcapped Skinhead
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:07pm

    There is no such thing as SHC…if you take a person, and wrap them in a rug…pour a little gasoline in the middle, around the area of their stomach and lite them on fire, it is called wicking. It will burn the person at such a high tempature that it will actually burn the bones, using their body fat as fuel…the gasoline is just to get it started. It takes around 8 to 10 hours for a body to burn, usually leaving the feet and ankles because of their lack of fat content, but the rest will be merely ash. It will not burn any other part of the house around them…only melting a few things in the room, such as appliances. The discovery channel did experiments such as this a few years back and showed it can be done. SHC just means the person was murdered by a fairly smart person who got rid of all the evidence…thats all.

    Report Post » Steelcapped Skinhead  
    • the hawk
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:55pm

      Maybe it was just a cheep cremation !

      Report Post »  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:17am

      ….sounds like YOU are familiar with this!!!…(hmmmmm?)

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
    • Charles
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 2:35am

      That would do it. Human fat is a big calorie carrier. Crematoriums have been burned to the ground when the buildings are left unattended and the excessive fat of an obese corpse runs outside the retort, lights up and its like pouring out a 55 gallon drum of fuel and igniting it. Technical stuff. Many overweight Americans could pipe their fat cells into their cars engine and drive to work everyday! (no offense Glenn)

      Report Post »  
    • We the people of the republic
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 4:57am

      You remembering this sez something for U.
      Get help?

      Report Post » We the people of the republic  
    • swampbuck
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 7:48am

      personal experience? lmao

      Report Post » swampbuck  
    • SamIamTwo
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 8:46am

      Ah the media helping others to help themselves to some crime.

      Report Post » SamIamTwo  
    • JJ Coolay
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 9:09am

      Skinhead… kind of scary how much you know about this topic??

      Report Post » JJ Coolay  
    • EcceCrucemDomini
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 10:52am

      Sure there is I spontaneously combust every time Obama speaks.

      Report Post »  
    • j-a-c-k
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 3:59pm

      Would this then be a late term abortion?

      Report Post »  
    • Mil Mom
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 10:49pm

      And you know this ….“HOW”?????
      Don’t know which is scarier, the thought of SHC or to have someone give the “scientific” experiment explanation you just did.
      WHAT DOES A STEELCAPPED SKINHEAD DO FOR A LIVING?

      Report Post » Mil Mom  
    • kindling
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 11:33pm

      Has anyone been reported missing near your home lately? Do you work for a large Union? If you are looking for work I bet George Soros might have some ideas.

      Report Post » kindling  
  • whitefield
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:06pm

    C’mon Blaze… That first vid is so very clearly fake that I’m ashamed of you.

    Report Post » whitefield  
  • Dr Vel
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:05pm

    One can hope this condition only occurs in liberals, progressives, and marxists. The more often the better.

    Report Post »  
  • barackem
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:47pm

    I was outside one day trying to install some solar panels. I touched the influx renovator to the inverted flumometer. Bad idea. The next thing I knew my head was getting really hot. I thought maybe it was sunburn since my sunscreen was only a 45. Then my grandfather’s girlfriend came out and said “Boy, your head is on fire”. If only my solar panels worked that good I’d be a happy camper.

    Report Post »  
    • MrMagoo
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:09pm

      Funny! :) You should’ve connected the charge controller to the Al Gore buttitis.It would’ve worked.Maybe.

      Report Post » MrMagoo  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:23am

      you just simply miss-connected the Kretasfranz with the muffler bearing!!! sooo, this minor error is the cause of global warming?…THANKS, (always knew it was simple!!)

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
  • Impenitent
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:44pm

    Could have been the drummer for Spinal Tap…

    Report Post »  
  • patbarker
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:36pm

    “we ar preparing class action suit against taco bell”

    sIncerest regards,
    DNC and trial lawyers

    Report Post »  
    • patbarker
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:43pm

      “and BUSH BEANS…we knew GW had something to do with it”

      Report Post »  
    • vtxphantom
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 5:40am

      Why am i thinking marshmellows and hot dogs?

      Report Post »  
  • the hawk
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:32pm

    I’ve seen some woman I thought might burst into flames at any moment !

    Report Post »  
  • MrMagoo
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:21pm

    I was watching this subject on the Discovery channel one day.The weird thing is that normal weight people have this phenomena.You‘d think it’d be a fat person.

    Report Post » MrMagoo  
  • Cida
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:16pm

    Well….here is a thought, maybe HELL got tired of waiting and reached up to grabbed his a$$. This could be the makings of a good move where the blue flame came out of his soul and tested him and found him unworthy; not to mention, this kinda diminishes the thought of going to HELL after being fried on earth. I really wonder what his last thoughts were. Evangelical Pastor Rob Bell from Mars Hill Church and Richard Dawkins the Atheist both told me there was no HELL, G-D nooooo pleasee don‘t take me I’m not ready, noooooo… POOF!! (Just Kidding) I Stand With Israel…Am Israel

    Report Post » Cida  
  • sportlock
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:07pm

    Sounds like Gore science to me

    Report Post »  
  • SgtB
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:06pm

    Best explanation I’ve heard of is wicking. Basically, if a person catches on fire while wrapped up in cloth, their fat cooks and wicks out of the cloth like candle wax on a wick. Hence the term wicking. Also, because the fuel source is contained within the flames, it creates a very localized, slow burning flame that is extremely high temp inside the wick.

    It has been shown with pigs and other human stand ins that such a burning effect can happen and induces temperatures hotter than that reached in an industrial cremator. This means that it is possible for the bones to even turn to ash. In a normal cremation, the bones are collected afterwards and then ground by a machine because it is more economical to grind bones than burn them at such a high temp that they turn to ash.

    Report Post » SgtB  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:35am

      …”human stand-ins?”…

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
    • chips1
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 12:12pm

      Two in a sleeping bag is called “WICKING”.

      Report Post »  
    • Mil Mom
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 11:00pm

      Do you and Skinhead belong to the same club. If so please let us know what and where, so we can move somewhere far, far away?

      Report Post » Mil Mom  
  • mikenleeds
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:52pm

    can you say..********..

    Report Post » mikenleeds  
  • NDPINDNT
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:41pm

    As a fireman I learned about this early in my career. In class they showed photos of a person that they said burned of spontaneous combustion. Very interesting.

    Report Post »  
    • Eliasim
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:53pm

      Yes, it is an interesting concept. It can also come to happen if Elijah may say, “If I be a man of God, may fire come down from Heaven.” As it did when Elijah burned up the fifty men.

      Report Post »  
    • Eliasim
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:01pm

      I inclined to think that if someone doesn’t go seeking Baal that they will be alright.

      Report Post »  
    • Free2speakRN
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 2:02pm

      You know, I’ve looked at some of these cases, and they are burnt to death in different areas of the body. There‘s alot of things in this world we don’t understand. The most honest thing I can say about it is, “I don’t know.” The theories and the comments given may hold merit, but from what I saw, there was alot of difference in the structure of the bodies’ remains to be definitive about clumping them together. These firemen investigators on the different cases weren’t stupid. They also could not find motives of why, and who would benefit. There could be combinations of biological chemistry, enviorment, electromagnetic effects, and who knows what. Why does a man have a history of getting hit by lightning six times and still talk about it? I don’t know. But as you said, it’s interesting.

      Report Post »  
  • Anna Fallaxis
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:36pm

    The problem with this poor old Irishman is that he had so little blood in his alcohol stream, they still haven’t been able to put out the fire.

    Report Post » Anna Fallaxis  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:31am

      hope ya not “shocked” by this answer….(sry, just HAD to)

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
  • poverty.sucks
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:34pm

    Are you Saved?

    If you were suddenly die of spontaneous combustion, would you go to Heaven?

    http://www.PeaceWithGod.Jesus.Net

    Report Post » poverty.sucks  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:39am

      …with my luck, i’d probably go to Cleveland or Detroit!!!

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
  • db321
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:25pm

    Fake – Laughing, Photoshopped photos, this is BS.

    Report Post » db321  
  • ScreaminEagle
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:20pm

    Slow news day?

    Report Post » ScreaminEagle  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:30pm

      Should I worry about Mexican food increasing my chances for combustion?

      Report Post » TXPilot  
    • CatB
      Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:38pm

      Sounds like salads might be the problem … ;-)

      Report Post »  
  • OhioRifleman
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:19pm

    I don’t buy the last bit in the article. If you go down to the level of SEM, you will find evidence of an ignition source or accelerant. If they can’t find one, there is a damn good chance that there was none. Investigations are not 100 percent foolproof, but when you search for something for a year, the chances of missing something are extremely remote.

    As to what caused it, only God knows, and he isn’t on the witness stand at the moment. I must say I feel sorry for the poor sod, but sj1t happens from time to time. It is an undeniable fact of life.

    Report Post » OhioRifleman  
  • FrankSpeak
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:17pm

    That’s funny…I just rented ‘Kill the Irishman.’

    Report Post » FrankSpeak  
    • Free2speakRN
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 2:21pm

      Hey Frankspeak, The Irishman you’re commenting on went to my highschool, Collinwood, a few years before me. I didn’t know him, but my brother saw some of his body parts, after following the direction of the blast that was heard apparently for miles. As you know, it was spontanious for all but the two lurking in the car, in wait. Usually the best part of the dental appointment is when it’s over.

      Report Post »  
  • COFemale
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:17pm

    My theory is he really let one go and the fire in the fireplace ignited and followed the methane he produced; poof up in flames.

    Having said this, several years back around 2004 I was walking downstairs in the basement and all of a sudden a rising heat eminated from my left sholder area. I really panicked as the first thing I thought about was spontaneous combustion. I had no candles or fire source near me. It was really freaky. After a few minutes it was gone.

    Report Post » COFemale  
    • Beauzeaux
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:47am

      you (briefly) had a“ Cleveland moment”….how was it ??

      Report Post » Beauzeaux  
    • chips1
      Posted on September 24, 2011 at 12:21pm

      COFEMALE:
      If that were true, wouldn’t there be evidence of the body shooting 3 or 4 feet across the room?

      Report Post »  
  • uvgtafrnd2
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:13pm

    Let this be a lesson to ye! Dun wash dun yur bangers ‘n mash with th’suds!

    Report Post » uvgtafrnd2  
  • Kaoscontrol
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:09pm

    feel the BURN…

    Report Post » Kaoscontrol  
  • YepImaConservative
    Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:08pm

    A highly combustable mix of ‘taters and brew caused this Irishman quite a discomfort… and he just blew!

    Report Post » YepImaConservative  
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