A woman in Osan, South Korea, allegedly set her apartment ablaze Monday as she tried burning a cockroach.
Police are seeking an arrest warrant for the woman, whose reckless mistake culminated in the death of her Chinese neighbor, according to The Korea Times.
The morning of the fire, the woman had tried killing the roach using a lighter and a chemical spray canister.
Once ignited, the blaze quickly spread to her nearby bed and some trash.
The woman called the fire department and managed to escape, as she lived on the second floor.
But a wife, husband, and baby living on the fifth floor weren’t so fortunate.
Unable to egress down the smoke-filled stairway, the family tried the window.
Across was another apartment building about a yard away.
Mum dies saving baby from fire started by neighbour killing cockroachhttps://t.co/fwQEvOIO14 pic.twitter.com/dgSQXPCS7F
— Daily Star (@dailystar) October 22, 2025
The family reached over, successfully handing the baby to their neighbors.
Then the husband stepped across safely.
His wife, however, fell while making the transition.
She died at the hospital hours later.
Meanwhile, it took the fire department about 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze.
Eight other residents were treated for smoke inhalation, according to the BBC.
Police said the woman responsible could be criminally charged with starting the fire and causing death by negligence.
While there are many safe and effective ways to exterminate roaches, fire is not one of them, according to the CockroachZone blog.
“Burning cockroaches is a cruel pest control method,” wrote Jack Andersen, the website’s founder. “Furthermore, it isn’t effective since there is a high chance the cockroach will survive if not burnt fully.
“Even if you doggedly use flames against a cockroach, you’re putting yourself and your home at greater risk. Cockroaches are fast runners and quick to scurry away. You may lose them, leaving them to heal in privacy or have a flaming roach pose a hazard to your house. Fire damage may be costly if not life-threatening,” Andersen warned.
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