Man starts huge house fire after trying to kill spider with blowtorch

A total of 29 firefighters were called to the scene.

According to ABC News, firefighters were called to the scene at a home in Fresno, California late on a Tuesday evening.

The person at the scene explained that they were house-sitting for their parents when they spotted several black widow on the ceiling.

To be fair to the guy, those are among the most terrifying of arachnids, but regardless of that fact he certainly could have chosen a better method to get rid of the creature.

He chose a handheld blowtorch as his weapon of choice, and very quickly he had a bigger problem on his hands than a pesky spider.

While he was quick enough to escape the property before the blaze got out of hand, the house wasn't quite as fortunate.

According to Lee Wilding, deputy fire marshal with the Fresno Fire Department, the fire spread quickly and the house was engulfed in flames in no time.

"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," Wilding said.

"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."

A total of 29 firefighters were called to the scene, and it took about five minutes to put out the fire.

"He was still outside when the smoke become visible," Wilding added.

"The occupant was cooperative and did give a full statement as to his action at the time the fire was ignited."

If in doubt, use insect repellent folks. Or if you don't suffer from arachnophobia, consider trapping it in a glass and putting it outside.

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