Naked man starts house fire while grilling cookies, police say

Police officers and firefighters in a small Florida town responded to a house fire last week like none they had ever encountered.

NWF Daily News reported when firefighters arrived at the home around 5:30 p.m., they saw smoke coming from the inside. They reported a naked man answered the door, said, “I’m sorry,” and closed the door.

Police officers arrived to assist and the man came to the door again, left it open and went back into the house.

A police report said the man showed no signs of understanding that he was in danger as officers saw several things on fire inside the home.

Police said an officer detained the man and removed him from the home. Firefighters said if he had stayed inside much longer, he could have died from smoke inhalation. Another officer reported they had a difficult time breathing after being in the home for only five minutes.

Firefighters went inside with breathing apparatuses to remove the burning items.

According to police, the man later admitted to drinking two liters of vodka and smoking marijuana starting around 9 a.m. He was examined at the scene and first responders saw no signs of life-threatening injuries. The man refused further medical treatment.

An investigation determined the fire started after the man tried baking cookies on his George Foreman Grill, which he left unattended. The report said when the grill caught fire the man put dry towels on top of the flames. Those caught fire as well, causing the fire to spread.