Vol. XI No. 4
July / August 2017
Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Wood Pellet Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
NEWS
Study Proposed to Debunk Myth of Spontaneous Combustion Fires in Mulched Landscapes By Bob LaGasse MSC Executive Director
F
or years, local fire marshals have been promoting the urban myth of spontaneous combustion of mulch in home gardens and landscape applications. In 2016 we saw a significant increase in the number of reports of local mulch fires, particularly in landscapes around businesses where the cause was attributed to improper disposal of smoking materials, especially cigarettes. Even so, a majority of those reports also included a caution from the media or local fire officials advising consumers that mulch may spontaneously combust in gardens and landscapes. In June, the fire and rescue department of Rockingham County, VA, even declared a fire in a small flower pot on a home deck the result of spontaneous combustion. From experience, the mulch and soil industry has never recorded a verified fire of landscape mulch or consumer potting soil that was not the result of some external ignition source. Some external heat sources have been extremely unusual, i.e., heat from
highly focused sunlight reflecting off “low-E” insulated windows, but that is still an external heat source and not spontaneous combustion. Our industry is also well aware of the spontaneous combustion of large piles where volumes in excess of 25 feet in height have shown sufficient mass to generate and store energy faster than it is lost, thereby causing spontaneous combustion within a large pile. Those same physical effects have not shown that they can transfer down to small piles, or even wrapped pallet loads, such that they would be capable of generating and retaining enough heat to self-ignite.
The Problem
ven given the volumes of experience E the industry has on this issue, there is little to no actual scientific data that can be used to effectively debunk the urban myth of spontaneous combustion of mulches in landscapes or soils in flower pots. So, why should we care? A lie told often enough, and with conviction, will eventually be accepted as the truth, even if it isn’t. When the media and the fire safety industry continually tell the public that mulch and soils present a danger to property and life, resulting from unpredictable spontaneous fires, the most likely outcomes will be: 1. A decline in product sales for fear of property loss and personal safety, 2. A decline in retail outlets willing to assume the liability for “potentially dangerous” product sales, 3. An increase in manufacturers’ product liability costs as fire departments and insurance companies declare more fires (and their losses) the result of spontaneous mulch and soil fires, or worst case, 4. A catastrophic industry loss caused by a consumer death erroneously attributed to the spontaneous combustion of mulch or soils in a landscape application. Continued on page 3
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