An Irishman who was burned to death in his own home died from spontaneous human combustion in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country, a coroner has ruled.
Michael Faherty (76) died as a result of the phenomenon, according to West Galway coroner, Dr. Kieran McLoughlin, who said it was the first time in his 25 years of investigating deaths that he had returned such a verdict.
An experienced garda crime scene investigator and senior fire officer both told Mr. Faherty's inquest in Galway that they could not explain how he came to be burned to death. Nor had they come across such an event before.
Assistant chief fire officer, Gerry O'Malley, said fire officers were satisfied that, after a thorough investigation, an open fire in Mr. Faherty's fireplace was not the cause of the blaze which led to his death.
No trace of an accelerant was found at the scene and there was no sign that anyone else had entered or left the home in Galway city.
The inquest heard the smoke alarm in the home of Mr. Faherty's neighbor, Tom Mannion, had gone off at about 3 a.m. on December 22 last year. In his deposition, Mr. Mannion said he went outside and saw heavy smoke coming from Mr. Faherty's house.
He banged on the front door, but got no response and then called at the door of another neighbor. Gardai and the fire brigade arrived quickly on the scene.
Garda Gerard O'Callaghan said he had gone to the house after the fire had been extinguished and found Mr. Faherty lying on his back in a sitting room, with his head closest to an open fireplace.
In reply to the coroner, Garda O'Callaghan said the only damage was to the remains, the floor underneath the body and the ceiling above. The body had been totally burnt.
Dr. McLoughlin asked the garda if he had ever seen anything like this and he replied "no." The inquest heard fire officers were unable to determine the cause or the origin of the fire that killed Mr. Faherty.
Pathologist Professor Grace Callagy noted in her post-mortem findings that Mr. Faherty had suffered from type 2 diabetes and hypertension but she concluded he had not died from heart failure. His body had been completely cremated and because of the extensive damage to the organs, it had not been possible to determine the cause of death.
The coroner said he was satisfied nobody had entered or left the house. While a fire had been burning in the fireplace in the home, he was also satisfied that the fire itself was not the cause of the blaze that had burned the deceased.
"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," said Dr. McLoughlin.
