Friday, September 23rd 2011, 1:26 PM
An Irishman who burned to death in his home shortly before Christmas died of spontaneous combustion, a coroner has ruled.
Officials said that Michael Faherty, 76, died on Dec. 22, 2010, in his home, the BBC reported. When his charred body was discovered, forensic experts did not find any evidence of foul play - or that a fire in Faherty's fireplace had spread.
The only damage found was to Faherty's body, which his neighbor discovered after coming over to investigate the smoke emanating from his house.
After ruling on Thursday that Faherty's death was not caused by his Type 2 diabetes or hypertension, officials ruled he just combusted.
Spontaneous combustion is the hotly contested idea that a human body can burst into flames without any apparent outside source of ignition.
"This fire was thoroughly investigated, and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation," the West Galway coroner Kieran McLoughlin told London's The Guardian.
Pathologist Mike Green told the BBC that pooh-poohed the idea of actual spontaneous combustion, arguing that a spark - whether from a cigarette or something else - caused the sudden fire but it burned up in the fire.
He also doubted the possibility of divine intervention.
"I think if the heavens were striking in cases of spontaneous combustion, then there would be a lot more cases. I go for the practical, the mundane explanation," he said.
McLoughlin, who said he had never seen a similar case, told the BBC that most cases occurred near an open fireplace or a chimney.
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