Today's award goes to a spider-hunting inadvertent pyromaniac in California.
A man who was house-sitting for his parents set their home on fire when he used a blowtorch to kill spiders, according to authorities.
. . .
"The tenant used a torch like a handheld propane torch to kill the spiders that were around the base of the residential structure, and in doing so some flame from the torch went in between some of the cracks and the siding and into the interior of the wall," [Lee Wilding, deputy fire marshal with the Fresno Fire Department, told ABC News]. "It started a small fire within the wall that then traveled up into the attic through the wall space and into the attic to cause a larger fire."
. . .
Fresno Fire Battalion Chief Tony Escobedo told ABC News Fresno affiliate KFSN-TV that the man could have used insect repellent to get rid of the spiders rather than a blowtorch.
"We don't ever recommend using some type of heating device like that to get rid of any vermin or spiders,” Escobedo told KFSN. “This probably was a bad idea."
There's more at the link.
Helluva house-sitting job there, son. That was really hot stuff. I wonder if your parents will ask you to do that again?
Peter
"Don't burn the house down." - every parent who ever left the kid at home, alone
ReplyDelete"Hold my beer... - this guy
So - I guess nobody ever told that particular yobbo that they have a nice, handy, non-flame-throwing spider-killing spray bomb you can use for that sort of thing?...
ReplyDeleteSomebody saw the movie Arachnophobia a few times too often, I think...
ReplyDeleteThe line "This probably was a bad idea." is a strong contender for the Understatement Of The Year Award.
ReplyDelete