Wasn’t there a theory put forward that it was actually the type of paint used on the Hindenburg spontaneously combusting when the guide ropes eathed, rather than the use of Hydrogen that caused the disaster.
There was indeed. IIRC the purpose of the outer coating was multi-purpose. It had to be water repellent (see, for example, normal fabric aircraft dope) and also had to be capable of earthing a large static electricity charge that would build up on the outside of the airship in flight. This needed to all run to earth when the ‘ship moored, or a discharge (= spark = nasty!) would occur.
The composition was changed for one containing powdered aluminium and iron oxide powder. These are perfectly compatible together until you get a large enough heat source when suddenly you have a violent reaction generating enough heat to reduce the iron oxide back to molten iron.
In short, better known as THERMITE! It is used today to generate enough molten steel to weld railway track. Presumably one big enough spark and the whole caboodle was doomed from the moment ignition occured. I have my doubts that you could ever prove it after all this time, but whatever the cause of the initial spark or fire from the moment the covering was hot enough to begin reacting with itself, no agency on earth was going to stop that fire.
Adrian
P.S. In my youth the thermite reaction was taught at “A” Level – one wonders when it was discovered?
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