Blowtorch snow removal: GREAT IDEA.

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- New Bedford fire officials say a homeowner using a blowtorch to melt ice on his back porch set the home on fire causing up to $30,000 in damage.
No one was injured, though the man's ego did suffer second-degree burns.

Kruger says the man was using a torch hooked up to a 20-pound 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 uninsulated exterior wall and then into the second and third-floor apartments.

It took 25 firefighters to subdue the blaze that damaged bedrooms in the second- and third-floor units, and caused damage to the structure and wiring.