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Did an Oklahoma man die of spontaneous combustion?
Sheriff Ron Lockhart of Sequoyah County hasn't yet determined that the death of 65-year-old Danny Vanzandt was definitely a case of spontaneous combustion — but he hasn't ruled it out, either.
"It's very unusual, and it's bizarre, andI can't explain it," Lockhart told KFSM. "I'm not saying this happened. I'm just saying that we haven't ruled it out."
Vanzandt's brother discovered the victim in the kitchen and immediately called 911, according to KFSM. Fire crews found a badly burned body, but no fire damage to nearby furniture or other items. There were no signs of a break-in, a struggle or any other cause of death.
Spontaneous combustion has long been the stuff of legend, but some researchers believe it's possible, though rare. In 2011, a coroner in Ireland ruled that the death of 76-year-old Michael Faherty was the result of spontaneous human combustion, or SHC. [The 9 Most Bizarre Medical Conditions]
For any item to combust, it needs at least two things: a source of ignition and fuel for a fire. In many alleged cases of SHC, the victims were smokers or were near open flames like candles or a burning fireplace.
And the fuel for SHC might come from the victims themselves. Fat will burn, and fatty tissue is often located directly beneath the skin. Clothing or hair can act as candle wicks, according to researcher Joe Nickell, who investigated several such cases in his book, "Real-Life X-Files" (University Press of Kentucky, 2001).
Alcohol abuse is an additional factor in many cases of spontaneous combustion, either because it causes the victims to "pass out" or sleep soundly, or because alcohol itself is flammable. According to KFSM, Vanzandt was a heavy drinker and a heavy smoker who also had "poor hygiene" and no running water in his house at the time of his death.
Investigators also noted that Vanzandt had burn marks in his trachea, indicating he may have inhaled a considerable amount of smoke and carbon monoxide, which can cause a person to lose consciousness and, in high concentrations, can be deadly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Though the term "spontaneous combustion" sounds like a sudden burst of flames, Lockhart told KFSM the body appeared to have burned for up to 10 hours. Vanzandt's remains have been sent to the Oklahoma medical examiner's office in Tulsa, which will determine the cause of death.
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Leave a Comment:
Beans, Beans, the musical fruit.. Until you eat too many, then you go poof!
Perhaps he lied a lot? Liar Liar Pants on Fire....
Perhaps spontaneous combustion is what happens when you fart, sneeze, and burp all at the same time.
It all of the Butane he was inhaling to get high.
RIP Danny Vanzandt ..I apologize about the humor we find with you self igniting. When its me in a story like this have at it and LOL.
In the 1980's when I worked at the State of Oregon Health Division, a number of employees had a meeting and saw some photos of people who had died under unusual circumstances. One of them was a young woman who was sitting on an orange modern plastic chair and the lower half of her body was totally burned. The rest of her was normal. She was dead, unfortunately. They considered it spontaneous combustion.
10 hours! I hope the poor guy was passed out.
Maybe the guy ate a lot of Raisens or prunes and was having a lot of gas. I have heard that farts can burn so maybe he had a lot gas and lit a cigarette and then Boom. seems possible. I think I'll lay off the raisens.
I wonder if B.O. is inflammable.
Sometimes after someone has been drinking awhile they start to drink other things like rubbing alcohol or gasoline.
Clearly wick effect. Smokey dies of hard attack and falls forward onto his cig. Cig smolders and burns hole in clothes and skin. Skin abrades and the smolder heats fat cells which leak fat and the process continues turning the body into a nice big candle.
Mort, are you really Nick Charles?
was the irishman, mr. fahrty, smoking?
(perhaps he let off some gas???)
this always happens to really old people who are alone and smoke.
Any ME who invokes SHC as a cause of death is just a hopeless QUACK!
I think the real truth well come out one day and prove that the subject was killed and may have been done by the sheriff
The San Bernadino cops also claim that Dorner also died of spontaneous combustion.
Pickled himself for years, light up a smoke and whoosh!
Hey, alfalfa bales cant self ignite, stored greasy rags can too, who is to say that a perfect combination of a pickled body, greasy and oily from lack of proper bathing and clothing that may have not seen a washing in months create the perfect human candle? Light a smoke and exhale to close to to the process of the lighting and a body becomes a long burning candle? Crazier stuff has happened!
OK, no more franks and beans, bean burritos, no more white castle. That is not cocaine in my pocket it is baking soda and instructions to pour on the fire should I spontaneously combust. It is important for someone to reach into the back pocket of a nam on fire. Come on...be a hero.
I'd say someone cooked up this story...it's not even remotely possible...belongs on the bookshelf with the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and the Bible...
How is it that a body could burn for 10 hours & not consume anything other than the body, such as furniture & surrounding inflammable materials?
Here's another theory: I once had a girlfriend who had a a number of weird attributes, mentally as well as physically. She was seriously bipolar, for one thing, so she had these psychological flip-flops happening all the time. That was bad enough, but another flip-flop that occurred was this: At times her breath smelled very strongly of ketone, a smell very much like acetone which is extremely flammable! It was so strong that I worried about her being near any kind of flame such as a candle at those times, and I've always thought that there may be some connection between such a condition and spontaneous human combustion. If that much flammable organic substance was being expelled through her lungs, then her whole body must have been saturated with it!
Spontaneous human combustion is a myth. He probably set his clothing afire with a cigarette and his body fat fueled the fire.
No, Bob, do your research.
ok, i admit it. I SMOKED his azz!