PEAT MOSS CITED IN GREENHOUSE FIRE

Spontaneous combustion was being blamed for a greenhouse fire on Parker Drive Thursday afternoon.

Cape Girardeau Fire Department Assistant Chief Max Jauch said conditions inside the greenhouse may have been just right for a patch of peat moss to spark into flame. A humidifying system usually in place when the weather turns warm was not operating, and the air was hot and dry inside the structure.

Reflected sunlight and a fan, which kept a steady current of air circulating over the moss, probably provided the last two ingredients necessary for the fire.

Jauch said the greenhouse was not significantly damaged. He had not worked up dollar amounts but guessed the blaze did no more than $2,000 in damage.

He said when firefighters arrived there were two ignited spots with flames of 6 to 8 inches tall.

"There was really more smoke than anything else," he said.