Man with Arachnophobia Forgets That Gas and Flames Do Not Mix

First came the spider, then came the fire! A Michigan man could have been killed, all because he suffers from arachnophobia.

After stopping at a self-serve gas station to fill his vehicle with gas, a man who obviously is not a lover of spiders, noticed the eight-legged creature near the fuel door of his vehicle. Knowing that he needed the spider dead, but also not thinking clearly, the man decided to take action. Reaching into his pocket, he found the only thing he had to take care of the spider problem: a cigarette lighter.

Sometimes fear can cause rational people to think irrationally. The man obviously forgot about the safety warnings that include open flames and gasoline, because by trying to kill the spider using fire, he also started a blaze that quickly engulfed the entire gas pump.

• Mother Jumps Out Of Moving Car After Seeing A Spider

The attendant at the filling station remained calm and hit the gas automatic stop button. She then called the fire department.

The man was able to push the fear of the spider out of his mind and come to his senses in time to grab a fire extinguisher and put out the flames before the fire department arrived.

Luckily the man escaped serious injury and had little damage to his vehicle. The gas station's damage was contained to the pump, which was destroyed, and there have been no reports on if the spider was able to escape.

For those that don't suffer from arachnophobia, I don't expect you to understand this man's crazy, irrational thinking about encountering one of these critters. But I totally understand! I found this guy in the corner of my windshield (on the INSIDE!) on my way to HyVee. I had all I could do to NOT jump out of my car, while I was driving down 41st Street in Sioux Falls

By the way, I later set off a bug-bomb in my car to kill it! I never found an eight-legged carcass, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I made my husband sell the car. Don't judge me.