She tried to kill a bug but set her apartment on fire instead
An eastern Kansas woman accidentally has set her apartment on fire in an attempt to kill a bug by burning it with a small, flip-style lighter.
Monique Quarles tells the Topeka Capital-Journal that sparks shot out of the lighter and caused a mattress to catch fire in the Fairlawn Green Apartments complex in Topeka early Monday.
After she was unable to put out the fire, Quarles left the unit with two others and began alerting residents of the fire. Fire officials say 13 adults and six children have been displaced.
Topeka Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Herrera says one person was taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation.
Officials estimate that the fire caused $140,000 in damage.
The apartment complex was the scene of another large fire in July 2016.
Strange Kansas stories in the news
Today’s story isn’t the first time an unusual Kansas story has made the rounds.
Here are some other stories you may remember:
- Drunken swordsman freed in Supreme Court stabbing case
- Plan to flush evidence backfires when marijuana clogs toilet
- Kansas’ infamous goat gland doctor may be subject of Hollywood
- Intruder spends night in Kansas home while residents slept
- Wal-Mart customer, angry with self-checkout machine, loses tooth in fight
- Mice chew into evidence bags, eat and nest in marijuana
- Parents arrested after doing heroin in Chuck E. Cheese parking lot, police say
- Brothers celebrate lottery win by blowing up house
- Man who tries to rob 92-year-old woman suffers skull fracture
- Wichita boy’s garage-sale buy holds a treasure for his family
- Crack smoking, having sex in car net couple a trip to jail, Wichita police say
- Man uncooperative after being stabbed in scrotum with hypodermic needle
- Police: Drunken man fed children’s parakeet to his pit bull
- Man lay in basement four days after being robbed
- Woman urinates in yard, slaps child, police say
- Woman takes beating, but won’t surrender her beer
- Man’s suicide shot also kills sleeping wife
- Tattooed bicyclist miffed about being pulled over while wearing a thong
- Couple robbed while inside Dumpster
- Bachelorette party prop spooks Wichita police horse, prompts arrest
- Error on state test slips past everyone -- except for East High student
- Clay Center hunter shoots 27-point doe
- Sheriff: Woman sat on boyfriend’s toilet for 2 years
- Police arrest man suspected of having sex with dog
This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "She tried to kill a bug but set her apartment on fire instead."