BEDFORD (Massachusetts) - FIRE officials in New Bedford, Massachusetts, say a man using a blowtorch to melt ice on his back porch ended up setting his house on fire, causing up to US$30,000 (S$43,300) in damage.
Fire Capt Scott Kruger tells The Standard-Times newspaper of New Bedford that no on was injured during Monday's incident at the three-story home.
CaptKruger says the man was using a torch hooked up to a 20-pound 9-kilogram 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 second- and third-floor apartments.
It took 25 firefighters to subdue the blaze that damaged bedrooms in the upstairs units, and caused damage to the structure and wiring.
