Playing With A Pet Rat

Judgment impaired by beer:

"She was getting adventurous and we wanted to let her walk around on the ground and we didn't want her running off too far, so we grabbed some twine and some jingle bells so she didn't get too far," Stanifer told Eyewitness News.

Stanifer said he didn't have any scissors to cut the twine, so he tried to use a lighter to burn through it. The rat started to run around the garage, starting small fires.

..."I had a few beers before it happened, but nothing out of the ordinary," Stanifer told Eyewitness News.

The residents tried putting the fire out, but were unsuccessful. More than a dozen firefighters responded to help fight the blaze.

"This is my parent's house. My dad's not here right now. He's in Africa on a mission trip and my mom works most of the time. We can't get a hold of her," said Stanifer.

Fire investigators said the damage to the home will cost nearly $30,000 to repair. The rat was unharmed.