“SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. On Wednesday morning a heap of coal of about 100 chaldrons, which had been placed several weeks before, on wet ground, in Boston, was discovered to be on fire, smoking like a volcano, with a volume of sulphuruous matter rising in a state of ebullition. Unquenchable by water, it was found necessary to remove them to prevent a conflagration. This is the third instance of the kind within a year in that city.”

The Saturday Evening Post, (Philadelphia, PA) Saturday, September 06, 1828