(South Coast Today)
A New Bedford, Massachusetts homeowner using a blowtorch to melt ice on his back porch accidentally set fire to his house on Monday. Fire Captain Scott Kruger said the building's owner was trying to melt the snow and ice on the back porch using a large torch hooked up to a 20-pound propane cylinder. He got too close to the building's wood frame and ignited the vinyl siding.
The fire quickly spread into the building's un-insulated exterior wall and chased into the second- and third-floor apartments. Kruger says, "This is an example of how you should not use a cutting torch to thaw out frozen water pipes or anything else. When you have wood framing, it will cause a fire."
