Spontaneously combusting liniment blamed in fatal fire

A fire that led to the death of an 82-year-old Chehalis woman in December was likely sparked when flammable liniment lotion self-heated and spontaneously combusted, a fire investigator says.

Rosemarie Hunt was found in her home on the 200 block of South Second Street in Chehalis a day after Christmas. She was found leaning against the front door of the unit after apparently attempting to escape.

She died from smoke inhalation. The fire subsided without spreading to other units in the one-floor apartment building due to a lack of oxygen to fuel the fire, officials said.

Chehalis Fire Department investigator Derrick Paul said one of the substances found and tested in the home was Watkins Liniment lotion, a pain-relief ointment. Paul said there was a large amount of the substance in the home.

"The test results confirmed that this substance contained components with a known ability to self-heat and may result in open flame under certain conditions," Paul wrote in a summary of his investigation.

With the lack of an ignition source in the area, spontaneous combustion of rags found soaked with the lotion is the most likely cause of the fire, Paul said.

"There are all kinds of different variables, and it's almost impossible to replicate," Paul said.

There were no smoke detectors in the unit, Paul said.

"If working smoke detectors were in place, it is my opinion the result of this fire would have been different," Paul wrote in his report.