Spontaneous ? How do they know he wasn't planning this well in advance ?

[Gaia]

It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes...


This sounds like a classic example of the current explanation for spontaneous human combustion. The man likely had a stroke or other incapacitating event, which you know happens with diabetes, when an ember from the fire or a cigarette on him. With him incapacitated the ember then combusted a part of his clothing hot enough to burn him thoroughly enough to reach a layer of fat, which then melted and fed the slow fire like wax to a wick in a candle. This model for human combustion has been tested successfully in pigs and works, slowly and horrifically over the course of a day, but leaves the same tell tale signs of intact feet and hands as they do not have enough fat to feed the flames.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion#Natural_explanations

Gaia

[nosgib]

One example of spontaneous human combustion was a young female dancing in a nightclub. She just burst into flames. And the best explanation I have heard from science is that we know it happens but how and why we don't.
A similar thing happened to me in that I was being treated for asthma when a chemical reaction occurred in my lungs producing of all things carbon dioxide . As Le professor said later we know it happens but in the same case as the former we don't know the how or why.

[ThePythonicCow]

One example of spontaneous human combustion was a young female dancing in a nightclub. She just burst into flames.
I'd guess you're referring to the story told here: http://www.skepsis.nl/newcombe.html

This story might be a better example of how stories change as they spread, than it is an example of spontaneous combustion ;).

[araucaria]

Some reported cases happened too quickly for slow combustion. We need to put Judy Wood onto the case ;)

FYI there is a case of spontaneous combustion in Dickens' Bleak House.

Edit: mods, there are at least 3 threads on this subject...