A US man who threw a mouse onto a pile of burning leaves could only watch in horror as it ran into his house and set the building ablaze.
Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner, New Mexico, found the mouse in his home and wanted to get rid of it.
"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," he was quoted as saying by AP.
Though no-one was injured, the house and everything in it was destroyed. "I've seen numerous house fires, but nothing as unique as this one," Fire Department Captain Jim Lyssy said.
New Mexico has seen several major blazes after unseasonably dry and windy conditions which have destroyed 10 homes and devastated more than 53,000 acres (21,200 hectares) of land.
People do the dumbest things.
At least it was good for a laugh.
iceracer wrote: At least it was good for a laugh.
Unless, you know, you're the mouse...
I dont think "death by fire" was in the Learn me mouse eradication thread awhile ago!
Definitely not the brightest idea ever.
I just hope he can squeak by until he's back on his feet!
That story has been floating around for a while, but it's undertermined if it really happened or not. http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/mousefire.asp
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/flaming-pet-rat-starts-fire-damages-titusville-hom/nJgrB/
It's an epidemic!
stuart in mn wrote: That story has been floating around for a while, but it's undertermined if it really happened or not. http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/mousefire.asp
I would like to think the BBC would have gotten their facts in line before publishing.
a news organization doing fact checking before publication ... you probably still believe in the tooth fairy don't you ? 
The dateline on the BBC article is from 2006, so it's concurrent with the Snopes article.
If I was set on fire, and could manage to think, my dying thoughts would be, "Man, I'm pissed at that guy. I'm gonna Berk his E36 M3 up!"
Bravo, little mouse, bravo.
wbjones wrote: a news organization doing fact checking before publication ... you probably still believe in the tooth fairy don't you ?
BBC is a little more trusted than FOX, CNN, and MSNBC
mad_machine wrote: BBC is a little more trusted than FOX, CNN, and MSNBC
That's just because many folks think the accent makes Brits sound smarter than 'Muricans. I think Murdoch created some credibility issues for British media...
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