Was it the cover that ignited?

Yes, The open canopy struck a sharp focus on the instrument panel and ignited
the cotton canopy cover. By the time anyone knew it was happening, both
cockpits were on fire. The scene after the fire department was through was
nothing short of appalling. There were parachutes, instruments, seat cushons,
plexiglass, canopie rails, little sliding windows and stuff floating in
cockpits that were half full of water. It was hard to look at, even for a
veteran salvage bidder, like me. I figured the ASH-25 would be a steal at 20K,
about right for 30K and too much at 40K. It went for 38K.
BTW, the owner normally placed the canopy cover over the open canopies, but
decided to cover the instrument panel because it had blown off the day before.
Canopies closed and covered is the safest way to avoid this problem.
JJ Sinclair