A ferndale man who used a smoke bomb inside his house tried to get rid of his crawl space of skunks actually worked but, while doing so part of his home also turned to smoke.

Ferndale Fire Chief Kevin P. Sullivan said that “we suggest citizens to hire pest control professionals, however if one is an absolute die-hard do-it-yourselfer, please read and understand the directions and warning labels before applying an incendiary to our home or garage.”

At 10:30 a.m. Monday to a home on the 300 block of West Webster after the renter who lived there used a smoke bomb in his house to get rid of the skunks that lived there. When firefighters arrived, flames were already in the crawlspace and on the first floor.

The man told fire authorities that he waited 15 minutes after the fire started before calling 911. “Fire can double in size every 30 seconds at a slow rate” Sullivan said and that “he let the fire grow approximately 30 times its original size”.

Sullivan said no skunk carcasses was found during the fire and that one firefighter suffered a sprain, but no one else was injured.

Credit: Detroit Free Press