A "poopy" diaper is believed to have "self-ignited" late Sunday afternoon, causing a fire at the Townhouse Apartments, according to fire officials.
"We cleared all the other accidental causes," fire Captain Gary Howell said. "It’s going to be the diaper," he said.
After sifting through the debris on the porch in order to determine what happened, Howell was able to put his hands on the culprit, the remains of a dirty diaper.
"Yeah, you don’t want to shake hands with him right now," joked fire fighter Shawn Mounts.
Howell talked with the resident and found that the dirty diaper had been placed inside a plastic sack and then put outside on a plastic chair on the patio for several days. Because the ground-level apartment faced west, the sack was left sitting in the full sun in the 100-plus degree temperatures.
Howell said the resident was incredulous when he informed her of his findings. "She said, ‘You mean a (dirty) diaper can do that?’ I said, ‘Yes, ma’am."’
The right combination of fuel and air conditions can create a fire, Howell said. "The diaper ‘self-ignited’ and caught the plastic chair on fire, which added to the fuel load, and it traveled from there."
When fire fighters arrived on the scene, they found several residents already fighting the blaze with fire extinguishers.
"They had everything out except under the balcony," Howell said. Taking over, the fire fighters finished extinguishing the fire, searching then for any remaining "hot spots" through the use of the department’s thermal imaging camera.
The apartment sustained damage to its patio window, siding, door and roof. When the window broke out, a lamp was scorched on the interior.
The damage estimate was placed at $3,000.
The residents were inside the apartment when the fire started and were able to escape unharmed, according to Howell. The American Red Cross was called out to assist them.
Some smoke was reported in nearby apartments, which the fire fighters removed through the use of fans. No one else, however, was displaced as a result of the fire.
After putting the fire out, fire fighters saw the humor in the situation.
"I don't know that I've ever seen a stranger one (fire)," Howell said. "But I've smelled worse," recalling an "ox tails fire burning on a stove" fire a few years ago.