Authorities say a man apparently set a northeast Fresno home on fire while using a blowtorch to kill spiders.
Twenty-nine firefighters were called to a home in Woodward Lake on Tuesday night to put out a two-alarm blaze.
According to firefighters, a man was house-sitting for his parents when he tried to kill black widow spiders with a blowtorch. He got out safely, but the home’s attic and second story were damaged.
No one was injured in the fire.
The story, as you might imagine, is attracting national attention because of the unique cause for the fire, with TV news anchors prefacing their reports with quips such as “Don’t try this at home.”

Please don’t use a blowtorch to kill spiders https://t.co/hcG3P0Pjin

— Fresno Firefighters (@Local753) October 24, 2018

Although the exact cause of the blaze is under investigation, firefighters believe the blowtorch was to blame.
There’s no word on what happened to the spiders.

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(GV Wire Contributed to this report.)