Here's a lesson, kids: building a makeshift blowtorch is not needed when using a newspaper or magazine will do.
A man in Seattle perhaps reacted hastily when he saw a spider in his laundry room and decided to kill it with fire. He used a lighter and spray paint can to create a blowtorch to burn the arachnid. Unfortunately, the fire soon grew into a blaze that ultimately caused $60,000 in damage, according to Seattle fire officials.
No injuries were reported from the fire Tuesday night in West Seattle, as the man who started the fire and his mother escaped the house. Fire trucks arrived at the Seattle home at about 8:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
"I don't want to encourage people to do this, but that's what he did," Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said. "The spider tried to get into the wall. He sprayed flames on the wall, lit the wall on fire, and that extended up to the ceiling."
The man tried to use water to put the fire out himself, but he was unable to stop the blaze. The fire spread up the wall and into the house's attic.
Using a lighter and a spray can like those that have paint or hairspray to create a homemade flamethrower is a favorite past-time of mischievous children and teenagers everywhere. While not being the healthiest of actions, most that engage in such behavior have enough common sense to do such destructive action outdoors and in places that would not be a fire hazard.
The man was renting the house in Seattle. The man and his mother are currently staying at a temporary shelter supplied by the Red Cross. The identities of the man and his mother have not been released by Seattle authorities.
"There are safer, more effective ways to kill a spider than using fire," Moore said. "Fire is not the method to use to kill a spider."
And the fate of the spider? "I'm pretty sure the spider did not survive this fire. The whole wall went," said Moore.
Photo: Xalion Malik
