Woman burns down her own home

The woman was cleaning her home when she happened on a snake.

In a panic, the homeowner threw gasoline on the creature.

 Sad irony: A Texas home was set ablaze after a burning snake, doused in gas and lit by the homeowner, slithered away and took the fire with it

Randall Baggett of the Bowie County, Texas Sheriff's Office explained what happened next.

'[She] lit the snake on fire,' Deputy Baggett told KSLA. 'Then the snake went into the brush pile and the brush pile caught the home on fire.'

 

Firefighters responded to the fire around 7pm Wednesday.

When they arrived to the residence, on Will Smith Road in the Liberty Eylau area of Bowie County, it was already engulfed in flames.

Bad luck: Firefighters struggled to contain the blaze as one side of a neighboring home burned, as well

Hopeless: Despite the best efforts of firefighters, the woman's home was a complete loss

A neighboring house was affected as well.

Thanks to the efforts of firefighters, the neighbor's home was only damaged on one side.

However, they were unable to contain the first blaze and that home was totally lost.

As strange as it sounds, one official said this isn't the first time he's seen an animal contribute to a fire.

Sad: Bowie County Deputy Sheriff Randall Baggett (pictured) said the burning snake slithered away and ignited a pile of debris which burned the house

According to Liberty Eylau Fire Chief David Wesslehoft, the phenomenon isn't totally unheard of.

'It could happen with rabbits and big field mice,' he told KSLA. 'Once they start burning the grass, they get out of their hole, they have been known to catch fire and then take off.'

Nonetheless, the fire chief admitted he'd never before seen a snake start a fire.

Meawhile, officials continue to investigate the incident.

No word yet on whether charges will be brought against the woman.