Homemade flamethrower used to kill cockroaches sparks fire

CENTRALIA, Wash. – Fire officials in Centralia say a resident sparked a small fire in an apartment while trying to kill cockroaches with a homemade flamethrower.

KOMO-TV reports that fire crews were called to the apartment on Monday morning after receiving a report of a commercial structure fire.

By the time firefighters arrived, the resident had extinguished the flames. No one was injured.

A preliminary investigation found that the resident was using bug spray and a lighter to create a flamethrower for killing cockroaches. That sparked the fire.

It’s not clear whether any cockroaches were actually killed in the process.