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Man sets himself on fire in Harvard Square

A worshipper at Christ Church on Garden Street reports she came out of services today to something you don't expect to see:

A guy just set himself on fire in front of my church (Christ Church). He was wearing fire proof clothing, I think it was a stunt and/or a crazy guy, he was running around and yelling. Tons of police cars and ambulances. They took him away in an ambulance, I couldn’t see if he was resisting or not.

Cambridge Day has more details, interviews witnesses who say the man seemed to have some serious burns.

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Comments

Seeking attention?

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Everybody clap

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Someone has a massive screw loose, whatever their motivation.

They also are neglecting that fire consumes oxygen, fireproof clothing or not, and such a stunt could end very badly without burns.

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I believe we can tolerate somewhat low oxygen -- but even a few extra percentage points of CO2 is pretty dangerous. And carbon monoxide would be worse.

I don't know if that's a real risk in this situation, though -- open air and whatnot.

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Terrifying. This person is suffering.

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I hope he didn't get his fireproof stuff from Kenmore Army/Navy. There's a sign on the outfit outside the door that states it's not intended for actual use. Looks cool but doesn't work at all.

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It could have been drugs. I've seen this happen personally.. There is a reason why Richard Pryor wrote an entire comedic routine about this.. he knows. It happened to him.

The guy could have been trying to light a pipe and it caught him on fire.

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I just want to correct the random guesses. It was not a stunt, it was a suicide attempt. He has battled schizofrenia for much of his life.

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