Arachnophobe Starts Fire At Detroit Gas Station Trying To Kill Spider

An arachnophobic Detroit man started a fire at a gas station after attempting to use his lighter to kill a spider that was near his fuel door.

Arachnophobe Starts Gas Station Blaze

After starting to pump his gas, an unidentified man captured on a gas station surveillance video apparently spotted a spider near his fuel pump. “Is that a spider in there?” he’s heard asking on the video. Intensely afraid of spiders, the man took out his lighter in an effort to kill it. A fire ensued.

Susan Adams, the station clerk, watched the strange incident go down. “When he pulled the lighter out of his pocket and lit it and started the fire,” Adams told local media. Adams subsequently shut off the fuel pump and called the fire department.

Thankfully, no one, including the man who started the fire, was injured. He returned to the gas station the following day to apologize for the incident, according to Adams.

“He was sorry,” Adams said. “He was sorry, he said he didn’t know. It is just one of those things that happen – stupidity.”