A crematorium in Henrico, VA caught fire Wednesday when a grotesquely obese body overloaded the system.
An employee was trying to incinerate a 500-pound body, but the process was complicated by the enormous, flammable deposits of slimy fat.
Despite the extra preparation that goes into the cremation of obese bodies, the sheer size of this corpse caused the cremation to take a turn for the worse, NBC12 reports.
This is not the first such incident in the nation, but Southside Cremation manager Jerry Hendrix says that he’s never experienced anything like it in 20 years at his trade.
“The body was so obese that the actual body fat came off and went straight up the stack and hit the roof material,” Hendrix described.
“Once it started,” Hendrix went on, “the grease hit the roof and started the fire, the only thing we could do is dial 911 and get the fire department here.”
The three living people in the crematorium escaped unharmed, and the fire was under control within a half hour, NBC12 reports.