Wilgrove
29-01-2008, 07:49
On July 2nd 1951 remains were found of a 67 year old widower named Mary Reeser. Her burnt smouldering remains were found by her Neighbor and some house painters. She had been sitting in an easy chair when the incident happened. Her left foot still wearing a slipper remained intact and only the corner of the room and the chair she was sitting in had been burnt. Firemen, police and pathologists examined Mrs. Reeser's remains and also found her liver which was fused to a lump of vertebrae and her skull which had been shrunk to the size of a baseball by the unusually intense heat.
The the walls of the apartment were covered with a greasy substance, plastic switches had melted along with two candles which the wicks had been left unburnt. There was only a small circular burn area which encompassed the remains of Mrs. Reeser and her chair. For such a cremation experts say that a temperature of 2500 degrees is necessary. A cigarette accidently dropped whilst asleep would never of caused such heat. The true cause of the burning death of Mrs. Reeser is still unknown. She is the most famous case of Spontaneous Human Combustion.
Linky! (http://www.castleofspirits.com/shc.html)
So what is the cause of Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC)? Is it simply from a smoker falling asleep with a cigarette in his or her mouth? Does our body have the right chemicals that if mixed together will set us ablaze like a dry Christmas tree? If this is just a normal type of fire, not caused by anything we do not understand, then why in cases involving SHC that only the victim and their immediate surroundings burn or melt? Shouldn't the fire have enough fuel to spread through the building as well as the room?
There are many theories about SHC, one of them is being the "Wick effect". This theory propose that the fat of any human is the fuel for the fire, with alcohol and a cigarette being the starter of the flames.
However, the problem with this theory is that in order for alcohol to be an acceptable source as ignition of the fire, the human would have to be blind soaking drunk. So drunk that they would've died of Alcohol poisoning.
Another problem with the "Wick effect" is that cigarettes are not really that good at starting fire on a human body. Sure it can burn couches, and houses, but the only way it can penetrate the skin if the shirt and clothes were already on fire, which would suggest a progressive fire. SHC is seen more as a flash of fire that only last a few minutes to an hour, leaving behind a leg or arms along with the ashes of the victim.
Another theory of how SHC can happen is The static flash fire theory. Basically the premises is that the body builds up static electricity to dangerous levels and when a discharge happens, it sets the body on fire.
Professor Beach expanded upon Static Elecrity in the human body;
The professor explained that under certain conditions (walking on carpets during dry winter weather, for example) almost anyone can build up an electrostatic charge of as much as 20,000 volts.[7] Hence the shock we sometimes feel when touching a car door or other metal surface. Usually, the electricity is harmlessly discharged through the tips of the hair; however, the professor claimed, there are some people (he guessed around one in 100,000) whose abnormally dry skin permits them to generate as much as 30,000 volts at a time. In certain circumstances, he said, such people may be highly dangerous. They may, for example, have been the detonators that touched off explosions in hospital operating theaters whose atmosphere contained an admixture of anesthetic vapor and air. In addition, the professor was convinced that workers in ordnance factories and petroleum refineries should be tested to discover whether they have the type of skin which retains electric charges more persistently than others. He quoted an instance in which a man proved to be a hazard to himself:
Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_Human_Combustion#The_static_flash_fire_hypothesis)
However, the problem with this theory is that skeptics claim that SHC is fire from within the body, which they explain is the reason why only the victim and the immediate surrounding are affected by the fire and not the entire room or building that the victim occupied.
One of the most famous case of SHC is one of Mary Reeser. You can read her story here. (http://anomalyinfo.com/articles/sa00007.shtml)
Is SHC a real Phemonon (sp) or is there a more logical explanation for people catching on fire, and what appears to be a quick burst of intense flame?
The the walls of the apartment were covered with a greasy substance, plastic switches had melted along with two candles which the wicks had been left unburnt. There was only a small circular burn area which encompassed the remains of Mrs. Reeser and her chair. For such a cremation experts say that a temperature of 2500 degrees is necessary. A cigarette accidently dropped whilst asleep would never of caused such heat. The true cause of the burning death of Mrs. Reeser is still unknown. She is the most famous case of Spontaneous Human Combustion.
Linky! (http://www.castleofspirits.com/shc.html)
So what is the cause of Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC)? Is it simply from a smoker falling asleep with a cigarette in his or her mouth? Does our body have the right chemicals that if mixed together will set us ablaze like a dry Christmas tree? If this is just a normal type of fire, not caused by anything we do not understand, then why in cases involving SHC that only the victim and their immediate surroundings burn or melt? Shouldn't the fire have enough fuel to spread through the building as well as the room?
There are many theories about SHC, one of them is being the "Wick effect". This theory propose that the fat of any human is the fuel for the fire, with alcohol and a cigarette being the starter of the flames.
However, the problem with this theory is that in order for alcohol to be an acceptable source as ignition of the fire, the human would have to be blind soaking drunk. So drunk that they would've died of Alcohol poisoning.
Another problem with the "Wick effect" is that cigarettes are not really that good at starting fire on a human body. Sure it can burn couches, and houses, but the only way it can penetrate the skin if the shirt and clothes were already on fire, which would suggest a progressive fire. SHC is seen more as a flash of fire that only last a few minutes to an hour, leaving behind a leg or arms along with the ashes of the victim.
Another theory of how SHC can happen is The static flash fire theory. Basically the premises is that the body builds up static electricity to dangerous levels and when a discharge happens, it sets the body on fire.
Professor Beach expanded upon Static Elecrity in the human body;
The professor explained that under certain conditions (walking on carpets during dry winter weather, for example) almost anyone can build up an electrostatic charge of as much as 20,000 volts.[7] Hence the shock we sometimes feel when touching a car door or other metal surface. Usually, the electricity is harmlessly discharged through the tips of the hair; however, the professor claimed, there are some people (he guessed around one in 100,000) whose abnormally dry skin permits them to generate as much as 30,000 volts at a time. In certain circumstances, he said, such people may be highly dangerous. They may, for example, have been the detonators that touched off explosions in hospital operating theaters whose atmosphere contained an admixture of anesthetic vapor and air. In addition, the professor was convinced that workers in ordnance factories and petroleum refineries should be tested to discover whether they have the type of skin which retains electric charges more persistently than others. He quoted an instance in which a man proved to be a hazard to himself:
Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_Human_Combustion#The_static_flash_fire_hypothesis)
However, the problem with this theory is that skeptics claim that SHC is fire from within the body, which they explain is the reason why only the victim and the immediate surrounding are affected by the fire and not the entire room or building that the victim occupied.
One of the most famous case of SHC is one of Mary Reeser. You can read her story here. (http://anomalyinfo.com/articles/sa00007.shtml)
Is SHC a real Phemonon (sp) or is there a more logical explanation for people catching on fire, and what appears to be a quick burst of intense flame?