An Iowan Started an Apartment Fire While Trying to Kill a Bug

I know there are lots of memes on social media that show images of bugs with the caption, "KILL IT WITH FIRE," but that doesn't mean you should actually do it!

Emergency services were called to Gray's Lake Apartments on Fleur Drive in Des Moines around midnight on Monday morning, November 8th to put out a fire. According to a new article from KCCI, nobody was injured because of the fire, but several people had to relocate because of the incident. The article says that "smoke filled the entire building, so even though only four apartments had any damage, they [took] extra precautions and [evacuated] three other units because of all the smoke that filled the building."

So, how did this fire start? It's probably not an explanation that you've heard before. The KCCI article reports that police say a resident "attempted to light a bug on fire on a futon." That must have been one disgusting bug!

In all seriousness, there are much safer ways to murder bugs. My go-to is to spray them with some sort of cleaning product, wait until they fall to the ground, and then smash them 30 times with my heaviest shoe. Sometimes I like to leave them there for a few hours to serve as a warning to other bugs in my house. It also helps to have a dog that will eat pretty much anything. One of Tater's favorite pastimes is catching flies with his mouth, and it's one of the reasons I love him so much.

Whatever your chosen bug disposal method is, just please... don't include fire.