Spontaneous Human Combustion Kills Man?

[Ashyne]

Maybe someone burned him to death elsewhere and dumped his body in his home to make it seem as if SHC had occured.

[Rafterman]

But does the phenomenon exist at all? I agree with Brian Dunning that it doesn't.

People catching on fire is not especially uncommon. It happens all the time. The only thing differentiating the cases classified as SHC is that no source of ignition was found; the fires are said to have been spontaneous. Other than that, there's nothing especially remarkable about them. The fires burned in a familiar manner, and the injuries are what would be expected.

Structure fires or brush fires sometimes go unsolved as well, but I think you'll have a hard time finding a fire inspector who will invent the term "spontaneous structure combustion" as if the lack of a determined cause means there wasn't one. Spontaneous Human Combustion of the Second Kind should not be allowed to exist as a category; instead we should call them what they are: Unsolved deaths by fire. Similarly, SHC of the First Kind has never been found to be spontaneous either. Those are simply the rare cases where a natural death in isolation has been followed by a slow combustion from some nearby source of ignition.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4258

[tipotep]

But does the phenomenon exist at all? I agree with Brian Dunning that it doesn't.

People catching on fire is not especially uncommon. It happens all the time. The only thing differentiating the cases classified as SHC is that no source of ignition was found; the fires are said to have been spontaneous. Other than that, there's nothing especially remarkable about them. The fires burned in a familiar manner, and the injuries are what would be expected.

Structure fires or brush fires sometimes go unsolved as well, but I think you'll have a hard time finding a fire inspector who will invent the term "spontaneous structure combustion" as if the lack of a determined cause means there wasn't one. Spontaneous Human Combustion of the Second Kind should not be allowed to exist as a category; instead we should call them what they are: Unsolved deaths by fire. Similarly, SHC of the First Kind has never been found to be spontaneous either. Those are simply the rare cases where a natural death in isolation has been followed by a slow combustion from some nearby source of ignition.

Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4258

I agree with the above , SHC is just a load of BS .

There has to be some form of external ignition

TiP.

[GirlfromOz]

Spontaneous combustion.Now lets look at why this person had an untimely death.A chemical imbalance.When the body has an accumulation of combustive materials/gases then,when the timing is right,a fireworks of these compounds ignites!A simple explanation but it is not as simple as that.

[Antilles]

I knew if I looked long enough I'd find this.

http://science.howst...nomena/shc2.htm

In 1938, a 22 year old woman named Phyllis Newcombe was leaving a dance at the Shire Hall in Chelmsford, England. As she descended the staircase of the hall, her dress suddenly caught fire with no apparent cause. She ran back into the ballroom, where she collapsed. Several people rushed to her aid, but she later died in the hospital. Although the theory was that Newcombe's dress had been ignited by a cigarette or a lit match thrown from the stairwell, no evidence of either was ever found.

I agree with the above , SHC is just a load of BS .

There has to be some form of external ignition

TiP.

Check out my post above.

[Rlyeh]

Spontaneous combustion.Now lets look at why this person had an untimely death.A chemical imbalance.When the body has an accumulation of combustive materials/gases then,when the timing is right,a fireworks of these compounds ignites!A simple explanation but it is not as simple as that.

What evidence showed they had a chemical imbalance?

[Render]

More information:

Spontaneous combustion has long been the stuff of legend, but some researchers believe it's possible, though rare. In 2011, a coroner in Ireland ruled that the death of 76-year-old Michael Faherty was the result of spontaneous human combustion, or SHC. [The 9 Most Bizarre Medical Conditions]

For any item to combust, it needs at least two things: a source of ignition and fuel for a fire. In many alleged cases of SHC, the victims were smokers or were near open flames like candles or a burning fireplace.

And the fuel for SHC might come from the victims themselves. Fat will burn, and fatty tissue is often located directly beneath the skin.

Alcohol abuse is an additional factor in many cases of spontaneous combustion

According to KFSM, Vanzandt was a heavy drinker and a heavy smoker who also had "poor hygiene" and no running water in his house at the time of his death.

.

Investigators also noted that Vanzandt had burn marks in his trachea, indicating he may have inhaled a considerable amount of smoke and carbon monoxide, which can cause a person to lose consciousness and, in high concentrations, can be deadly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though the term "spontaneous combustion" sounds like a sudden burst of flames, Lockhart told KFSM the body appeared to have burned for up to 10 hours. Vanzandt's remains have been sent to the Oklahoma medical examiner's office in Tulsa, which will determine the cause of death.

http://www.livescience.com/27264-death-spontaneous-combustion.html

[Rafterman]

I knew if I looked long enough I'd find this.

http://science.howst...nomena/shc2.htm

In 1938, a 22 year old woman named Phyllis Newcombe was leaving a dance at the Shire Hall in Chelmsford, England. As she descended the staircase of the hall, her dress suddenly caught fire with no apparent cause. She ran back into the ballroom, where she collapsed. Several people rushed to her aid, but she later died in the hospital. Although the theory was that Newcombe's dress had been ignited by a cigarette or a lit match thrown from the stairwell, no evidence of either was ever found.

Check out my post above.

Simply not knowing the ignition source does not equal SHC. There was clearly an ignition source that set her dress on fire, it was just never found.