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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
Lots of people seem to think that every once in a while a person bursts into flame for no apparent reason. In reality there are numerous sources of fire, mostly cigarettes, fireplaces, and matches. And clothing is sometimes very flamable, especially in the past. And some furniture is also flamable, especially in the past. People are warned not to smoke in bed. Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is often associated with drunkenness. This probably merely means that drunken people are careless with fire, and unable to respond to an emergency.
It has recently been explained that the human body burns very well under one condition, that of clothes burning like a candle wick, and the fat of the body acting as the wax of the candle. This has very likely happened in nearly all of the cases attributed to SHC. This leaves the original cause of the fire unexplained. Of course, there are many causes for burning clothes, the most common being cigarettes.
I have heard of one report of a person who went to a hospital saying that he was nearly burning up inside, and felt that he was about to burst into flames. It was reported that the doctors doused his internal fire, I can't imagine how. Such a report is virtually impossible to prove or disprove, and smacks of typical "urban legend" (see Various Collections of Urban Legends). In other words, it sounds false.