Man uses blowtorch to kill spider, burns house down instead
A Seattle man has done sixty-thousand dollars worth of damage to his family’s rental home by trying to kill a spider with a homemade blowtorch.
The man–whom authorities have not identified–became alarmed when he discovered a spider in the home’s laundry room. So, he grabbed a lighter and a can of spray paint, and attempted to set the spider on fire.
What he did instead, however, was set fire to the wall. The man threw water on the fire, but it had spread to the ceiling, and, from there, to the attic.
He then got his mother out of the house and called 911. Firefighters battled the blaze from outside because of a report that there was ammunition in the house. Once the tenants confirmed that they owned no ammunition, the crew moved inside.
But, by then, the worst of the damage was done.
Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore provided the moral for the day. “There are safer, more effective ways to kill a spider than using fire,” he told reporters. “Fire is not the method to use to kill a spider.”
When asked about the inciting spider, Moore said, “I’m pretty sure the spider did not survive this fire. The whole wall went.”
The Red Cross has provided temporary housing for the now-homeless occupants. The owners of the home did not comment on the incident.
