Spontaneous combustion blamed for fire

JONESBORO, Ark., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Arkansas said a month-long investigation into a house fire determined the blaze was started by the spontaneous combustion of a plant.

Greene County fire investigators said the July 25 fire at the Jonesboro home of Brian Duncan began when a plant on the front porch of the house spontaneously combusted, KAIT-TV, Jonesboro, reported Wednesday.

"Spontaneous combustion is something where you have to have a lot of variables come together and it has to be just right," said Jonesboro Fire Department Fire Marshall Jason Wills.

"It happens in organic material in the process of decomposition," Wills said of spontaneous combustion.

Duncan said the fire caused about $20,000 worth of damage to the home.