Patrick Mcmahon
Three people were hospitalized and 10 are homeless after a Cincinnati woman attempted to douse a bedbug infestation in her home with rubbing alcohol and started a house fire instead.
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The rubbing alcohol — which is extremely flammable — ignited because of a nearby open flame, according to authorities cited by the New York Post. An ensuing fire caused $250,000 in damage to the five-unit multi-family Ohio home that hosted the fire.
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Three people had to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation, according to CBS News. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Facebook user Kamaron Lyshe-Berry said he had bought new televisions and monitors on Black Friday that were lost in the fires.
“I don’t even know what happened. I got a call from work saying my house is on fire,” said Lyshe-Berry in a Facebook live video taken just outside the fire. “My mom called me right when I was about to clock out … Everything is gone, everything.”
For now, the American Red Cross is assisting and providing housing for those displaced by the inferno, reports WXIX.
Incredibly, it’s the second time that a rubbing-alcohol-fueled fire has burned down a Cincinnati house in as many months. Just after Thanksgiving, a 19-year-old lit a match just after dousing a bedbug in rubbing alcohol, causing a fire that did $300,000 in damage to six apartments and left eight people homeless.
Cincinnati District 3 Fire Chief Randy Freel told WXIX that people should stay away from any home remedies for bedbugs, especially the more flammable kinds.
“Get a professional,” he said.
