Can torches cause fire?

I was just about to dig myself a new basement to my wooden-home, when I suddenly figured that the ceiling was on fire (long story short, not even the cockroaches survived). The only thing I did was to place a torch underneath a wooden block, as I've done many times before without so devastating effects.

So I wonder, can torches ignite fires? If yes, always or only under certain conditions?

3

5 Answers

Torches can't cause a fire.

• Are there burned trees in the neighbourhood? A forest fire might be the cause.
• Did you hear a loud "flinging" sound? You could've been unlucky enough to have a ghast around.

7

According to Minepedia:

Fire is a block that was first seen in Indev. It has an animated face on all four sides, and two faces on the inside at slants. Fire is not created naturally in a map, with the exception being in The Nether, it will only be created if the player or a Ghast causes it or Lava burns a flammable object.

At no point does the minepedia describe a torch causing a fire, suggesting that no one else has seen this happen.

Could it be that your roof is near to a lava flow? Or, you've accidentally used a flint and steel on the wood?

No, torches cannot start a fire. Period.

Lava can ignite things up to 2m away (see the Lava page on the wiki), which would be 2 blocks away... so even if you have the following (side view):

.=.... ( KEY: = wood )
...... ( . air )
~~~~#= ( ~ lava ) ( # stone )

Both sections of wood (above, and on the other side of the stone) could possibly catch fire.

I haven't personally tested this, and will edit with more details once I get a chance to test it, but this could be your problem.

The answer to your question is no. As to how the fire started...

If your house is in the normal world:

1. Lightning
2. Flint and steel e.g.fireplace

In the nether:

1. Ghast
2. Close to lava or fire