Dead man’s fluids caused fire in crematorium

A dead man had one final earthly act before moving on.

Fire officials said the six-hundred pound man was in being cremated when his body fluids were too much for the oven.

The body fluids seeped out onto the floor and ignited causing a fire at the Garner Funeral Home in Salt Lake City.

"Those fluids can be very flammable," said Scott Freitag of the Salt Lake City fire department. "Sort of like a grease fire."

An employee used an extinguisher to put out the fire.

The room is self-contained and has its own drainage system.

"There really is no risk or a hazard of it getting into the sewer system, the water system or into the general public," said Freitag.

Firefighters rarely see these kind of fires.

But they say a six-hundred-pound body can create problems during a cremation.

"It really does condense or breaks down that fat into a greasy product, just like a grease fire," said Freitag. "Only a little bit can cause a flame to go up."

The crematorium is back in business and the funeral director said they'll notify the family to assure them their loved one wasn't harmed.