Squirrel cooker may be out $10k

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Damage from a southwest Michigan apartment complex fire believed to have been sparked by a resident trying to cook a squirrel with a propane torch is estimated at $1.4 million.

Debra Spohn, senior vice president of the apartment complex's parent company, tells The Holland Sentinel that the company plans to hold the former resident involved responsible for the building's $10,000 insurance deductible. She says cooking isn't allowed on outside patios.

Officials have said the resident apparently planned to eat the animal and was burning off its fur on a third-floor deck at the ClearView Apartments in Ottawa County's Holland Township when the fire broke out Oct. 10. Investigators said the blaze was ruled accidental.

A responding firefighter broke a toe. No residents were injured. The fire displaced 29 families.