Cockroach-Chasing Mishap: Woman Accidentally Sets Apartment Ablaze in South Korea

Wed Oct 22 2025 11:36:02 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a bizarre incident, a woman's attempt to kill a cockroach with a makeshift flamethrower led to a deadly fire in her apartment building in Osan, South Korea. Authorities are now investigating.

A woman's attempt to eliminate a cockroach using an improvised flamethrower resulted in a tragic fire that killed a neighbor in Osan, South Korea. The woman, in her 20s, is facing potential charges. The incident highlights the risks of unconventional pest control methods.

South Korean police reported that they will seek an arrest warrant for a woman whose efforts to kill a cockroach using a makeshift flamethrower ended in disaster, igniting a fire in her apartment building.

Tragically, one of the neighbors, a Chinese woman in her 30s, died after falling while trying to escape through a window. The woman, who is in her 20s, confessed to police that she used a lighter and a flammable spray to torch the insect, claiming she had utilized this method before without incident. However, items in her home ignited, leading to the deadly blaze.

Authorities from the northern city of Osan indicated that the woman could face charges for accidentally starting the fire and causing death by negligence.

The use of flamethrowers or blowtorches to eliminate cockroaches has gained popularity through social media, despite the real risks involved. In a similar case from 2018, an Australian man caused a kitchen fire while attempting to kill cockroaches with homemade incendiary devices.

The deceased neighbor lived on the fifth floor of the building with her husband and their two-month-old baby. When the fire erupted, they opened a window to call for help, and handed their baby to a neighbor in an adjacent block while attempting to find an escape themselves. The husband managed to climb to safety while the wife fell during her escape and later succumbed to her injuries in the hospital.

This incident underscores the dangers posed by unconventional methods of pest control and the urgency for residents to prioritize safety when dealing with home infestations.

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