US man accidentally torches home after using a blowtorch to kill spiders

A tenant accidentally set his house on fire after using a blowtorch to try to kill spiders.

The man “made a bad decision” when he opted for the propane torch instead of insecticides, firefighters in Fresno, California said.

More than 25 firefighters reportedly battled the blaze at the two-storey house.

Lee Wilding, deputy fire marshal with the Fresno Fire Department, told ABC News: “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.

“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,”.

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The man had “made a bad decision to use fire instead of insecticides to kill the spiders”, he pointed out.

The fire destroyed part of the house, but the man who started the fire was not hurt and was apparently outside when the smoke became visible.

Fresno Fire Battalion Chief Tony Escobedo told KFSN-TV that the man could have used insect repellent to get rid of the spiders.

He said: “We don’t ever recommend using some type of heating device like that to get rid of any vermin or spiders.”