A family in Timberville, Virginia is counting their blessings after their home was saved from burning down last week.

Soil fire damaged the deck and vinyl siding

It started from a freak accident from a plastic pot of soil on their deck, they said.

“I saw the deck was on fire and the side of the house was on fire, and I couldn’t fathom what could’ve caused this,” said Brad Jordan.

The Jordans keep potted plants on their back deck.

“But now I’m scared to death. I don’t like plants,” said Jordan after their potted plant suddenly burst into flames.

“Nobody thinks this could ever happen, but it did,” he said. “We never thought it could and it almost burned our house down.”

The fire burned their deck, the vinyl siding, a cooler and completely engulfed the plastic pot.

The ruling was spontaneous combustion, which is usually the cause of most mulch fires.

“It’s the only one I can think of in this circumstance in the last couple years. However, know that it is still an organic material and it’s going to go through a natural breakdown process and generate heat. When you allow it to dry out, and it hits a certain low moisture content, it will spontaneously combust,” said Capt. Joe Mullens of Rockingham County Fire and Rescue.