Posted on 03/24/2013 9:47:57 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
Texas woman sets snake on fire, snake sets her house on fire
The woman was frightened by a snake outside her house, so she doused it with gas and had her son set it on fire. That plan didn’t work out so well.
A Texas woman burned her own house down during a heated battle with a snake.
The serpent frightened the lady while cleaning outside her home Wednesday night. She doused the limbless reptile in gasoline and called over her son to set it ablaze.
The plan backfired.
Her son tossed a lit match at the creeping reptile but it slithered into a nearby brush pile, bringing the flames with it. The brush pile, too, caught fire and soon spread to the family's home on Will Smith Rd. in Texarkana, Capt. David Grable of the Bowie County Sheriff's Department confirmed to the Daily News.
"We were trying to kill a snake with fire," the woman said during a 911 call. "It done caught the house."
"Caught the house?" asked the dispatcher.
"Yes, the house is on fire. Could you hurry up please?"
The Liberty Eylau Fire Department arrived at the scene to find the family's home completed destroyed and a neighbors' home significantly damaged.
"There were two homes close together. One of them is a total loss," said Jeff Neal, chief deputy at the sheriff's office.
Fire chief David Wesslehoft told CBS 12 News that burning animals have been known to ignite larger fires.
"With rabbits and big field mice, once they start burning the grass they get out of their hole," said Wesslehoft. "They have been known to catch on fire and take off."
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
I used to think that way, until the day I was riding with my husband on a tractor and I saw a big rattler strike one of the front tires! From then on, my favorite way to describe a mean person was saying "he/she is meaner than a rattlesnake with a headache". And I've lost count of how many of them I've shot... the only good rattler is a dead rattler.
I am more frightened of gasoline fumes in an enclosed space that a damn snake.
That is the irony here.
“To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee; For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee”
— Reported last hisses of the snake
Nothing worse than a “cold blooded arsonist”.
You're talking about those wimpy little western diamond backs, not the 5'-7' Eastern diamondbacks. Remember the one that was hoaxed to be 15', was in reality "only" 7 feet, 3 inches and was found in a St. Augustine neighborhood?
: 
I like snakes, but not the ones that can kill me, family and pets. They tell me the baby copperheads around here will hit you full strength until they get a bit older, not having learned control.
It's amazing we survived childhood and it's amazing how fast things have changed. Only a few decades ago it was just nature that was dangerous and parents turned you loose until dark or supper, whichever came first. I liked the odds better back then.
Copperheads freak me out more than rattlers.
They never warn ya.
Water moccasins are particularly nasty and I would hit one with a 410 the moment I saw one.
Brush pile? Sounds like these folks would have guns. Never use gasoline to do a gun’s job.
The neighbors across the street told me they've had copperheads in their house a few times.
I didn't believe them, thinking they must have been corn snakes, until I found a young copperhead at the curb one night while walking the dogs.
Stuff like that makes me appreciate those big black snakes all the more.
That lady was scared by a harmless snake!
I would have to disagree with you- it turned out not to be harmless.
However I agree with you- without her interventions, yes it was a harmless snake. And in my thinking, a stupid way to remove something that did not need removing. Harmless snakes will slither away on their own given a chance.
In my area, there's a charitable organization devoted to rescuing and caring for injured reptiles. None of their critters poses a danger to humans. However, one of their spokesmen told me that most of the reptiles in their care were attacked by people who were afraid of them or thought they were poisonous.
At least you can see and hear the big ones... What scares me the most is the pigmy rattlesnake. I’ve found myself in some bad situations because I had not seen or heard it!
Seems like that's the only time I hear people talk about those pygmies is finding one after having just it with the mower. Otherwise, they never saw it. NOT good.
My friend Colt stepped right on one.
Spent 3 days in hospital
Pretty much.
While accidents do happen, most people that get nailed by a snake get nailed because they freak out.
Well medicated, I hope. I hear that’s very painful.
Now that’s funny.
Never bring a snake to a firefight. Or vice versa!
Hard to believe that someone living in Texarkana, TX didn’t have a shotgun on hand to kill that snake.
Would’a been a lot quicker and easier to use than gasoline and a match — not to mention, a whole lot less costly.
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