House Fire Breaks Out During Wasp Nest Removal

Oct 13, 2026 | News On Japan

GIFU - A fire broke out at a home in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, on October 12th after flames apparently spread to the building during an operation to remove a wasp nest, burning two residential structures and leaving one worker with minor injuries.

According to police, the fire started at around 8:30 a.m. at the home of Daiji Kato, 79, in the Kurokawa district of Shirakawa. A self-employed man was removing a wasp nest when flames spread to the property's wooden, single-story main house.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control approximately three hours later, but both the main house and a separate two-story wooden building on the property were damaged by the fire.

The man carrying out the extermination work suffered minor injuries after being startled by the flames and falling from a ladder.

Kato lives at the property with his 70-year-old wife and their 46-year-old second son. None of the three family members was injured.

Police said the worker had been using a commercially available insecticidal smoke device designed to be ignited to release smoke and eliminate wasps.

Investigators believe the fire spread to the house during the extermination work and are examining the circumstances surrounding the blaze.

Source: TBS

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