News

Rodent is Blamed for Dishwasher Fire

8/6/2010

Fire officials are blaming a pesky rodent that quietly stashed dog food in the back of a dishwasher for starting a fire that damaged a kitchen Thursday, The Union Leader (Manchester, NH) reports.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Fire officials are blaming a pesky rodent that quietly stashed dog food in the back of a dishwasher for starting a fire that damaged a kitchen Thursday, The Union Leader (Manchester, NH) reports.

"He must have been stealing the food for a long time, putting it away for winter I guess," Fire Chief Kevin Pratt said.

The fire broke out just before noon inside the dishwasher at a home at 13 Richard Court, and it didn't take long for firefighters to pinpoint the cause. Dog food was found piled up around a heating element, pump and a fan, which wasn't able to properly ventilate the dishwasher when it was operating, fire officials said.

Assistant Fire Chief Paul Hammond said the homeowners recently had a "mouse issue," so firefighters assume that a mouse, or possibly another rodent, was behind the secret stash of dog food.

Source: The Union Leader

SAN DIEGO - A harvest mouse trapped in an open space near Fairbanks Ranch tested positive for hantavirus, county health officials said Monday.
The mouse was found during routine monitoring.
The virus is carried by wild rodents, primarily deer mice and harvest mice. It can be inhaled by humans when it becomes airborne, particularly while cleaning rodent droppings and nesting materials, said Jack Miller, director of the county Department of Environmental Health..
Source: SignonSanDiego.com

LONDON (AP) - The House of Lords has a momentous decision to make: Should it get cats to chase the mice that have infested one of Britain's most famous buildings?

London's Houses of Parliament, also known as Westminster Palace, has rodents, and the peers aren't exactly sure what to do about it.

Ivan Anthony Moore-Brabazon, the House's administration chief, on Wednesday turned down suggestions to acquire cats. He says the felines could ingest mice poison or wander around the chamber and disrupt business.

He favors the current tactic of using poison and mousetraps.

Parliament staff have reported daily sightings of the rodents in the palace's restaurants and bars.

The performers' union Equity says nearby theaters in London's West End are facing similar problems, with three-quarters of actors and stage managers reporting infestations of mice, rats and fleas, according to The Guardian newspaper.