One woman’s extreme reaction to finding a snake in her yard backfired in tragic fashion. After being set on fire, the flaming snake caused the woman’s home to burn down.

KSLA News reports that the house fire started in Bowie County, Texas, when the snake’s burning body came into contact with a nearby pile of brush.

“While cleaning up, she saw a snake, threw gasoline on the snake, lit the snake on fire,” Bowie County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Randall Baggett told the station. “The snake went into the brush pile, and the brush pile caught the home on fire.”

Oddly enough, a local fire department official says the incident isn’t as unique as one might think.

"Yes, it could happen with rabbits and big field mice,” Liberty Eylau Fire Chief David Wesslehoft told the station. “Once they start burning the grass, they get out of their hole. They have been known to catch fire and then take off."

Naturally, we prefer stories in which the nonhuman players are the heroes, not the victims. For instance, in December, one alert chicken reportedly saved the life of its owners when its clucking woke them up during a fire. Or, the hero rabbit that saved a family when their house went up in flames.

The resulting fire at the Texas home was so intense it completely destroyed the home and even burned part of the neighbor’s house. Even worse for the homeowner, local authorities reserve the right to file charges against her.