Nutella And Sun Blamed For House Fire, London Firefighters Warn Against Dangers Of Deadly Combination

A London family was devastated to return home from celebrating their wedding anniversary to find their house engulfed in flames and completely destroyed. Firefighters worked diligently to save the home, but to no avail. Not only was the home a complete loss, but they lost their beloved 9-year-old Jack Russel as well. The London Fire Brigade investigated the cause of the fire, hoping to shed some light on what might have sparked the flames. After carefully combing though the debris, the culprits were determined to be an empty Nutella jar and the Sun.

Declan Murphy was celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife and two kids on February 15 when they received word their house had caught fire. The home, located in Southwest London, was completely engulfed when they arrived. According to the New York Post, a team of over twenty of the London Fire Brigade’s finest were on scene to save the home, but the damage was too severe. After working diligently, they found that the fire had completely destroyed the roof and the lower floor was nearly damaged beyond repair. The family dog was trapped inside and died of smoke inhalation before the flames could get to him.

Upon investigation, the investigators from the fire brigade determined that a Nutella jar and the sun were the cause of the fire. Just a few days prior, the Nutella jar had been cleaned out and filled with a few hair rubber bands before being placed in the window sill. When the intense sun rays found their way in, the glass jar magnified them and the intense heat started the fire. The Associated Press reported on comments made by Charlie Pugsley, the fire investigator, where he stated that the thought was crazy that a simple glass jar could start a fire.

“It sounds far-fetched that a jar containing a few rubber bands caused a severe house fire but that’s exactly what happened.”

Murphy, an electrical supervisor, feels that his tragic experience could be used to teach a lesson for others that might not be aware of the dangers of placing glass jars in the path of the sun’s rays.

“I want to ensure other people are aware of the dangers and know to keep glass items away from windows and out of direct sunlight so they don’t have to go through anything like this.”

Although the accident seems like a freak occurrence, the London Fire Brigade has documented at least a total of 125 fires caused by the sun, within the past five years.

[Photo Courtesy: BBC News]