Mr. Sanford remembers little from that night, obviously suffering amnesia from the shock of having his entire upper body engulfed in flames, declaring that an intruder committed the crime.

FORBES: Witnesses and Accomplices

As the body is being devoured by flames, the promise (if only the promise) of a new beginning takes shape.

CNN: The politics of Tibetan self-immolations

Ms. Gillespie and the elevator were engulfed in flames, and her body was discovered by firefighters responding to the blaze.

WSJ: Handyman Charged in Elevator Arson Death

When Chechnya was in flames, it was the only body they would let draw near.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Those officers heard two gunshots and found Debra Sundstrom's body but were forced to leave it behind because of rapidly spreading flames.

WSJ: Upstate NY man found dead after wife's suicide

The kind of details the paramedic and fire-fighters will give out include the work involved in cutting someone free from a wrecked car, the risk of a vehicle bursting into flames with people trapped inside and the kind of injuries sustained by different parts of the body in a crash.

BBC: Shock treatment for drivers