A man accidentally set his house on fire when he was trying to kill a spider who crawled into his laundry room.
The unnamed man from West Seattle told fire officials that he panicked when he saw a spider in his laundry room, and decided to use a lighter and can of spray paint to kill the insect but the wall caught fire.
According to KOMO news, firefighters originally battled the blaze from a distance after learning there may be ammunition inside. Crews were eventually able to extinguish the fire, but not before it did significant damage to the structure of the home.
Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department said the man attempted to kill the spider using the flames:
“I don’t want to encourage people to do this, but that’s what he did. 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.
“There are safer, more effective ways to kill a spider than using fire. Fire is not the method to use to kill a spider.”
The fire caused $60,000 worth of damage to the property.
As for the spider?
“I’m pretty sure the spider did not survive this fire. The whole wall went,” Moore said.
Moral of the lesson – always stick to the shoe/ hard book/ run away option when it comes to spider defences.
Images via KOMO news
