LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — A Virginia fire marshal is warning homeowners about the dangers of mulch, which can spontaneously combust and cause extensive damage, after a recent fire ignited by the common gardening and landscaping product.
The Loudoun County Fire Marshal said a fire Tuesday that caused more than $1.3 million in damage in Aldie was started by a mulch that ignited on its own.
“Spontaneous combustion can happen when a decomposing, organic material such as mulch generates enough heat to ignite without an outside source,” Chief Fire Marshal Linda Hale said in a statement. “Because of this, a large or compacted area of mulch can create sufficient heat to spontaneously combust. Remember, in all cases, mulch fires are more likely to start when the weather is hot, and it has been dry for an extended period.”
Firefighters arrived around 6 p.m. to find “a significant amount of smoke” pouring from the second floor and roof of the home. Four people inside were able to safely evacuate before rescue crews were on scene. When firefighters went inside, they encountered heavy fire conditions and retreated. They waited for a master stream from a ladder truck to reduce the majority of the fire then reentered the home and extinguished the remaining hot spots.
Neither the occupants nor any rescue personnel were injured. The damage was estimated at $1.36 million including about $20,000 caused to two neighboring homes.
Mulch fires occur thousands of times a year across the country. Thick layers of mulch can build up heat and spontaneously combust. The fire can spread to shrubbery, exterior walls and into the structure.
Experts recommend keeping an 18-inch buffer between mulch beds and combustible building materials like siding and decks. The mulch beds should be kept moist and homeowners should note when there are dry periods as well as windy conditions which increase the risk of combustion.
A large apartment complex caught fire in Arlington, Massachusetts, in 2015, destroying 36 apartments and six cars and causing $6.7 million in damage, according to the Massachusetts Fire Marshal. In that case, dry mulch beds were ignited by a discarded cigarette.
Mulch beds also spontaneously combusted in incidents in 2018 South Carolina and Ohio, WYFF reported.
In 2019, York County Fire and Life Safety in Virginia said it responded to 63 mulch fire incidents in a year including at a Chuck E. Cheese. A discarded cigarette thrown into a dry mulch bed caused extensive damage and forced it to close.
A 2018 fire at a commercial compost facility in Albuquerque was caused by spontaneous combustion, according to the Bernalillo County Extension. The extension service offers technical and educational advice on a range of agricultural issues. Officials noted that spontaneous combustion of home compost piles is rare.
Cox Media Group
