Spontaneous Human Combustion...

[brett]

does (not) exist?

What do you think? :P

Despite the tests they've done with (ALREADY DEAD) pigs (similar body-fat to humans) where they put the pig in a blanket, lightly poured gasoline on top, lit a fire, and in less than 5 hours the pig was completely consumed due to the body fat burning, I can't see a logical explanation for someone spontaneously catching on fire. Maybe some people just burn better? :p

Does it exist or not?

[Tripwire]

no.

A person is 75% water. In order to burn, the flames have to be:

a. Started by an outside source.
b. Needs something that can easily burn, like gasoline.


I bet all of these "supposed" cases probably were because a person was caring something that is easily combustable in heat, like lighter fluid, matches, or a crappy lighter. After those blow up, a person's clothes are more than enough to be the fuel for the fire.

[brett]

What about the cases where there was little if ANY damage to the rest of the furniture.. Even the corners of someones bed were undamaged, just the section where he/she was sleeping was burned to a crisp though. And the test re: pigs proved body-fat to be able to sustain a fire at 500-600 degrees celcius, regardless of water percentage. The pig was completely consumed, albeit with an outside source of ignition..

[snaggle]

I've yet to see anyone prove without a doubt that SHC is possible. The only way for the "crackpots and lunatics" to show me it's possible is for them to do it...and film the event happening...live. Otherwise, there's always a lot of "what ifs" left behind.

[BluRRPy]

who cares...

Unlike ghost stories and ESP crap, the possibility of spontaneously combusting has no outside fear factor. If it never happens to you, then who cares. If your burst into flames randomly one day, oh well, no point arguing it anymore eh?

Why would you discuss the existence of something with the word "spontaneous" in it that effects only a single person? Maybe if it was "masturbation-induced human combustion" it would be discussion worthy.

Although... now that I think about it, this would be pretty amusing to watch. I couldn't think of a more appropriate situation to Simpson's "Ha Ha" a person.

[SUICIDAL]

Human combustion can not happen without outside forces. It can appear to have been started from within the body, from sources such as Gamma Radiation or High powered Microwaves. The body does have acids, and other combustable items in it such as methane (which causes farts to light up) and the body is full of carbon and oxygen, the neccessary ingrediant in combustion, but there is no immedient ignition source, save electrical spark from the nevous system, which has its own protections.

[QBert]

SHC is wierd. The bodies will catch on fire from the inside, with little, if any damage to surrounding areas. Often, the extremities will be unharmed, like hands and feet, w/ burn marks where the apendages attach to torso.

I think it's possible. Any farmer will tell you that hay bales can spontaneously combust when it's wet.

[MindFlare]

I can't definatly say it doesn't exist...but I can't say it does either...Its just too weird for me.

People's family members have died this way (supposedly) and the conditions of their death are very weird like people mentioned. Very, very strange.

[othell]

Originally posted by MindFlare
I can't definatly say it doesn't exist...but I can't say it does either...Its just too weird for me.

People's family members have died this way (supposedly) and the conditions of their death are very weird like people mentioned. Very, very strange.

That's the problem with many of the cases. The fire does not seem to spread for some reason and is completely localized to the individual and their immediate surroundings.

Not only that, but many times there are not external sources of combustion.

Can we prove it exists? Not at this time. Can we prove that it does not exist? Again, not at this time.

We can only make theories....

[4est]

IMHO....it's a myth. The person's clothing acts as a wick and the bodyfat is the fuel. The body undergoes a very controlled burn **when** the conditions are just right. I saw the aformentioned pig experiment on TV. It was rather interesting.

[BoyG]

Did they deal with hay at all? Usually hay, when bailed, will start to decompose some which will generate heat. When the heat gets high enough it will start to burn the hay. I know a fair amount of people who lived on farms and had this happen. It's much more likely for farmers that grow and make make hay bails. Just because somebody is a farmer doesn't mean they make hay bails.

[philly]

I've done several readings on SHC (I'm a nut for unexplained events) and most authors and researches attribute this phenominon to a combination of elevated internal body core heat and naturally occuring body fluids that contain a low flammable chemical makeup. From what I've read, most of the SHC happen in enclosed areas that are high in temperature and with low moisture to begin with thus causing the body to release the body fluids in a sweating action, thus saturating clothes, etc. Then (and this is till unexplained) the internal body core temporature rises dramatically and causes the ignition of the flammable body fluids. They rationalize the effect of remaining or unscorched limbs due to the distance the appendiges are from the main trunk of the body where the core of the heat originates from, so the farther from the core of the body, the less damage occurs.

[PowerCow5000]

I don't really understand how it could be along the lines of a slow burning, there would be signs of a struffle if the outside of the body caught on fire first. Unless the person was dead already, the only way I could see this plausible in any way, shape or form, is for something to happen inside the body first, either killing the person and then triggering other events, or internal combustion. Really I don't even know if that's plausible, but speculation, for now, will always remain as nothing more than speculation.

Question: Have there ever been any first hand, eye-witness accounts of SHC? I always thought it was a joke when it was mentioned in Spinal Tap, I still have a hard time grasping its reality.