By Jennifer O’Meara
Clarington This Week
BOWMANVILLE, Canada — A spontaneously combusting flower pot caused the massive fire that ripped apart a large home on Old Scugog Road on April 28, according to the Clarington Fire Department.
Bill Reid, Clarington fire prevention officer, said the large plastic pot, containing peat moss, from the previous year was placed on the deck in direct sunlight, and hadn’t been watered in some time.
In large flower containers, growers use a lot of peat moss and organic soil which is designed to hold the moisture. When the soil gets dry and the plastic pot warms up in the sun, the peat moss and organic soil hold the heat, too, according to the fire prevention officer.
“Just like boiling water,” said Mr. Reid. “It started to smoke and then it started to spontaneously combust.”
The approximately 20-inch pot was on the edge of the wooden deck of the Haire’s house at 3400 Old Scugog Road. Several dry cedar trees were overhanging the deck.
“The fire spread to the deck and then to the cedar trees, which went up very quick,” said Mr. Reid. “The vinyl siding started to melt and catch fire very quickly. It’s a devastating situation.”
When firefighters arrived shortly after 6:30 p.m., there were heavy smoke and flames at the back of the house. Firefighters had several challenges trying to control the fire. With the high winds the fire spread quickly. The area has no fire hydrants, and the fire department had to truck water in from 3rd Concession Road.
A large crowd of onlookers parked cars along Durham Regional Road 57 and ran in front of fire trucks to get closer to the home.
One volunteer firefighter was injured while battling the flames and taken to hospital with a sprained knee. The home was destroyed but Ms. and Mr. Haire were not injured during the fire. They also managed to get their golden retriever, Baxter, out of the house.
It’s not the first case of spontaneously combusting flower pots the Clarington Fire Department has seen. There have been hanging baskets and a few times when residents used a flower pot as an ash tray — which is not the case in the Old Scugog Road house fire.
The fire department recommends people who buy large pots of organic soil plants repot the plant into a clay container and mix some topsoil into the potting mixture.
“The most important part is to maintain the moisture,” said Mr. Reid.
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