An unusual cause of a house fire

The words “spontaneous combustion of natural Christmas ornaments” jumped out at me from the Batavia Fire Department news release about a garage fire a couple weeks ago.

What? How? And could it happen to my dried pine cones in the plastic bins in the basement?

But the May 21 fire on Ridgelawn Trail turned out to have another, albeit still a seasonal, cause.

A more in-depth investigation, including work done by an insurance adjuster, found that lawn clippings caused the fire, said Batavia Fire Lt. Scott Hogan.

The owner of the house told the adjuster that he had smelled something burning on the muffler of his riding mower; it was grass that had stuck on. He threw the smoldering grass in a paper yard-waste bag containing old grass clippings.

The clippings continued to smolder, then caught fire. The flames spread to the some dried evergreen boughs that the family had been saving to use as kindling for campfires. That’s why fire department investigators initially thought it was the evergreen boughs, And bam, there you have it, $100,000 worth of damage.

Spontaneous combustion does happen with natural materials such as evergreen boughs, compost, wet hay, even mulch. Heat generated by decomposition can ignite the materials.

But Christmas decorations? That would have been a first in his career, Hogan said.

Listen up: Keeping with the public safety theme, here’s some advice from Sugar Grove Police Chief Brad Sauer, given during a presentation June 7 to the village board about the village’s emergency preparedness. Get yourself a NOAA weather radio, which will turn on, blast an alarm and broadcast National Weather Service alerts when dangerous weather is imminent. #147;That#146;s what we#146;ve been saying for years,#148; Sauer said. There are also weather radar apps you can download to your smartphone.Don#146;t rely on tornado sirens to alert you if you are inside a building. They are not designed to be heard in buildings, just outside. #147;It#146;s supposed to tell you (to) go inside and find out what is going on,#148; Sauer said.Sauer made his presentation specifically in the wake of the tornadoes that have struck the South and Joplin, Mo., this spring.Trustee Mari Johnson noted that it is in our nature to become desensitized to things like weather warnings. But the people in Joplin had at least 15 minutes of warning, she said. #147;I think it is a lesson to be learned for all of us that we do have to learn to take things seriously.#148;And Sauer said newer NOAA radios are site-specific, so you aren#146;t receiving broadcasts for the entire Chicago area.No talent necessary: You don#146;t have to know how to sew to make clothing for the children of Haiti. The team at Calvary Episcopal Church in Batavia will put you to work cutting and ironing materials and tracing patterns during a work day from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. today, June 15. You will turn pillowcases into dresses and T-shirts in to shorts.The group could use donations of elastic (#8540;-inch and 1-inch), frac12;-inch double-fold bias tape, trim for the dresses and pillowcases. To sign up, email dresses4haiti@gmail.com or call (630) 879-1999.