Recently I wrote about an East Texas woman and her adult son and their effort to kill a snake by pouring gas on it then lighting the gasoline-covered serpent. The burning snake proceeded to ignite grass and bushes around the house, and soon the house itself was engulfed. The local fire department arrived just in time to save the NEIGHBOR'S house. I researched this story, found law enforcement and emergency service personnel who verified both the 9-1-1 calls and the fact that the homeowners had indeed set their house on fire while trying to kill a snake. Having fact-checked the story, I then blogged about it in hopes that someone would take this most applicable lesson to heart. It turns out, unfortunately, a man on the West Coast did not do so.
As it happened, a certain man in Seattle, Washington was doing his laundry two days ago when he saw a "large spider" hiding among the dirty clothes. I am only speculating here, but apparently after stomping the dirty clothes, the homeowner saw the spider race across the floor and start toward the opposite wall. Like the man and his mother in East Texas, the Seattle man was prepared for emergencies such as large spiders on the loose in his home. He had close at hand a can of spray paint and a cigarette lighter. Grabbing both items the man raced in pursuit of the spider, which was crawling up the wall at that instant. The man flicked the lighter then shot the spray paint in the spider's direction - Shazam, instant flame thrower!
Don't be so quick to give up the spider for dead. It appears the man's first fiery blast of paint missed the spider, but...did not miss the wall. As the burning paint struck and ignited the wall, the very agile spider raced away along the wall, but in the opposite direction. Our hapless pyro-technician continued spraying fiery death toward the spider, which by now was running across the floor. The next blast of paint/flame was a direct hit on the pile of clothing, which caught on fire immediately. The spider continued across the floor and managed to elude the flame jet, at least temporarily.
At some point the homeowner noticed that the walls, floor, and laundry were on fire. While the man's judgment concerning insecticide was certainly questionable, his reaction at his now blazing home was entirely normal. He forgot all about the spider and began what must have been very heroic but vain efforts to extinguish the blaze. The man was also able to multitask, as he managed to call for assistance while fighting the fire; unfortunately, the blaze was by this time well beyond bucket and garden hose stage. Luckily, unlike our East Texas mother and son, the Seattle man lived only blocks from the nearest fire station. Within minutes fire engines were on site and the man's house was saved, although not before at least $40,000 worth of structure damage occurred and over $20,000 in personal property was lost in the blaze.
Once again, before blogging this up, I did some fact-checking. This story is apparently true, as it was carried in local newspapers, local and network television, and even in the USA Today. There are appropriate quotes from various officials, including a fire investigator's confirmation of the man's story. Ignition spots were found throughout the laundry room, indicating that the fire had several different points of origin. The local fire chief even went on the record to caution other residents NOT to use aerosol products and cigarette lighters in tandem to kill spiders. He pointed out that there are many aerosol-insecticides on the market that are just as effective as burning spray paint, and much safer, for killing spiders. One fireman even speculated that the spider at the epicenter of this incident escaped the blaze entirely by running out of the laundry room while the would-be spider slayer was distracted by the burning of his house.
I had hoped my blog about the East Texas fire caused by the snake-killers would be seen by my readers, who are spread far and wide around this globe on which we live, and that no one would be "doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past." It is possible that such was not the case, at least with the Seattle spider killer.
As it happened, a certain man in Seattle, Washington was doing his laundry two days ago when he saw a "large spider" hiding among the dirty clothes. I am only speculating here, but apparently after stomping the dirty clothes, the homeowner saw the spider race across the floor and start toward the opposite wall. Like the man and his mother in East Texas, the Seattle man was prepared for emergencies such as large spiders on the loose in his home. He had close at hand a can of spray paint and a cigarette lighter. Grabbing both items the man raced in pursuit of the spider, which was crawling up the wall at that instant. The man flicked the lighter then shot the spray paint in the spider's direction - Shazam, instant flame thrower!
Don't be so quick to give up the spider for dead. It appears the man's first fiery blast of paint missed the spider, but...did not miss the wall. As the burning paint struck and ignited the wall, the very agile spider raced away along the wall, but in the opposite direction. Our hapless pyro-technician continued spraying fiery death toward the spider, which by now was running across the floor. The next blast of paint/flame was a direct hit on the pile of clothing, which caught on fire immediately. The spider continued across the floor and managed to elude the flame jet, at least temporarily.
At some point the homeowner noticed that the walls, floor, and laundry were on fire. While the man's judgment concerning insecticide was certainly questionable, his reaction at his now blazing home was entirely normal. He forgot all about the spider and began what must have been very heroic but vain efforts to extinguish the blaze. The man was also able to multitask, as he managed to call for assistance while fighting the fire; unfortunately, the blaze was by this time well beyond bucket and garden hose stage. Luckily, unlike our East Texas mother and son, the Seattle man lived only blocks from the nearest fire station. Within minutes fire engines were on site and the man's house was saved, although not before at least $40,000 worth of structure damage occurred and over $20,000 in personal property was lost in the blaze.
Once again, before blogging this up, I did some fact-checking. This story is apparently true, as it was carried in local newspapers, local and network television, and even in the USA Today. There are appropriate quotes from various officials, including a fire investigator's confirmation of the man's story. Ignition spots were found throughout the laundry room, indicating that the fire had several different points of origin. The local fire chief even went on the record to caution other residents NOT to use aerosol products and cigarette lighters in tandem to kill spiders. He pointed out that there are many aerosol-insecticides on the market that are just as effective as burning spray paint, and much safer, for killing spiders. One fireman even speculated that the spider at the epicenter of this incident escaped the blaze entirely by running out of the laundry room while the would-be spider slayer was distracted by the burning of his house.
I had hoped my blog about the East Texas fire caused by the snake-killers would be seen by my readers, who are spread far and wide around this globe on which we live, and that no one would be "doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past." It is possible that such was not the case, at least with the Seattle spider killer.
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