Second Recent Case of Spontaneous Combustion in England

If you’re looking for a sign that global warning is real (other than science, of course) – at least in England – this may be it. For the second time in just a few months, a person in that country has mysteriously burst into flames for no apparent reason. The first case, which occurred in London in September, has not been solved. Now, a second man has inexplicably caught fire, this time in Hull, and sales of extinguishers and flame-retardant clothing are expected to rise while Brits wait for answers.

"No one else was injured, and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this.”

The Hull Daily Mail reports that police in Hull investigating the tragic incident which occurred at around 8 pm on December 27th are not treating it as arson or an assault. Hull City Council member Daniel Lingwood says he saw the flames and thought his van was on fire … until he realized it was a human. He and another man stopped a group of women from dousing the man with water, opting to roll him on the ground to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, he died before the police and rescue workers arrived.

"If anyone witnessed this incident or has any information please call 101 quoting log 480 of December 27."

As of this writing, it appears that the incident is unsolved, which means spontaneous combustion is still a possibility, especially with the previous recent case also unexplained. Thrown in the death of Michael Faherty in Galway, Ireland, in December 2010 that the coroner ruled was due to spontaneous combustion, and you have a lot of people in the UK becoming a little less skeptical and a little more worried.

Newsweek’s report on the Hull incident points out that London police issued a fresh call for help in solving the combustion death of 70-year-old John Nolan in September.

“We have spoken with a number of witnesses who saw Mr. Nolan ablaze, but we have yet to establish how the fire started.”

Fire investigators do not treat these cases lightly and police don’t want residents terrified of some sick individual setting the frail and elderly on fire. However, how do you comfort people who fear that they will burst into flames simply because they live in the UK?

Will these be the cases that finally prove spontaneous combustion?