Spontaneous combustion. Urban legend? Science fiction? This Is Spinal Tap?
Turns out, it’s for real.
So says Morristown Fire Robert Flanagan, whose men spent Monday’s wee hours dousing its aftermath.
We’re talking smoldering mulch, not exploding drummers.
Just before midnight, Morristown police alerted firefighters to smoke emanating near train tracks behind businesses on Ridgedale Avenue. The firemen traced the smoke to a heap of mulch, possibly from a landscaping company, Flanagan said.
How can organic matter catch fire when we’ve had nonstop rain for weeks (or so it seems, anyway)?
“Deep in the pile there is pressure and heat. The middle is hot. It smolders and smolders. There is a lot of smoke,” the Chief said.
Fortunately, area businesses were a safe distance away, Flanagan said, and the combustion was extinguished by 2 am.
All in a night’s work for Morristown’s Bravest.
