Squirrel Blamed For Causing DC Apartment Fire: Firefighters

WASHINGTON, DC. - Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. A squirrel is believed to have partially caused a fire in a southeast apartment building Wednesday afternoon, according to DC Fire and EMS.

Firefighters say a resident on the top floor of a three-story apartment building at 1300 Congress St. SE found a small animal making a hole in his ceiling. To frighten the animal away, they said he lit an incense stick and placed it in the hole. His plan, however, backfired big time.

You see, the squirrel was "none too happy about it" and decided to retaliate by breaking off the burning incense tip in the attic, causing the roof to catch fire, firefighters said. Smoke then quickly filled the apartment and set off a smoke alarm.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., firefighters said they arrived on scene to find an active fire burning in the attic area.

Firefighters moved quickly, attacking the flames from below and opening the roof from above. By doing so, they said they were able to confine the flames to a relatively small area.

Fortunately, there were no injuries, but firefighters said four residents were displaced and required the assistance of the American Red Cross.

Investigators said they did discover that the resident of the fire apartment disabled his smoke alarms after they previously activated from cooking. Doing so can prove deadly should a fire take place, firefighters warned.

There's no word on what happened to the "offending rodent." However, if anybody comes across a spiteful squirrel that smells a little like smoke and lavender, just walk the other way. You obviously don't want to make him angry.