Puddy Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Guess we'll just have to lean on Mrs. O'Leary's cow for cool animal fire stories. Flaming Mouse Story Found To Be False Rumor Squashed: Flaming Mouse Didn't Start House Fire UPDATED: 9:39 am EST January 10, 2006 FORT SUMNER, N.M. -- A small -town rumor that sparked world -wide interest about a mouse burning down a house has been found to be untrue. After 81-year-old Chano Mares's house burned down Saturday in Fort Sumner, news services picked up the quirky story. "Flaming Mouse Burns Down House" read the headline over an Associated Press story that appeared on ClickOnDetroit.com, for example. According to the initial report, Mares threw the critter in a pile of burning leaves near his home, but it ran back to the house on fire. A local firefighter said the mouse ran to just beneath a window and the flames spread up the window and throughout the house. All contents of the home were destroyed, but no one was injured. Interest in fires has been high lately. Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks. The mouse story, however, has been doused by Mares. "It's really humorous more than anything that a mouse burned down the house," he told KOAT-TV in Albuquerque. The mouse was dead when it hit the burning leaves. Mares said he trapped and killed the critter and tossed it on the fire. The flames, he said, probably reached his house because they were driven by high winds. Capt. Jim Lyssy of the Fort Sumner Fire Department said the rumor probably got started because there was "a little too much excitement" at the time of the fire. Mares lost everything -- and has no insurance -- but the mouse story still makes him smile. "I started laughing, and I'll be laughing from now on," he said. "It's silly." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I thought it was rather hard to beleive from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I think the original story was true, but that the guy was worried he would get thrown into jail for animal cruelty so he changed his story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Mares lost everything -- and has no insurance -- but the mouse story still makes him smile. "I started laughing, and I'll be laughing from now on," he said. "It's silly." 1258246[/snapback] Not so sure I'd be laughing that much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Another case of the media taking a story and making it up as they go along... the media is as bad as politicians! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 i thought it was an insurance scam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Another case of the media taking a story and making it up as they go along... the media is as bad as politicians! 1258267[/snapback] Maybe worse, but looking at Abramof and corruption these days maybe politicians are worse. Too bad because both should be noble professions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqualung Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) I told you those mices go up pretty quick. Edited January 10, 2006 by aqualung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I thought it was rather hard to beleive from the start. 1258259[/snapback] No kidding. One of the office slows who runs around after every hoax email warning told me about it yesterday. I called BS then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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