A Connecticut homeowner started a house fire after they tried to use a garden torch to melt away some ice.

The Seymour Fire Department (SFD) confirmed a garden torch was involved in the blaze that spread at a home on Walnut Street at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the Connecticut Post.

An SFD spokesperson said in a Facebook post on Monday: "There was in fact a fire at a home where a garden torch was being used to melt away some ice. These devices are, in fact, designed for weed management and can be used to mitigate ice."

According to the Connecticut Post, the homeowner accidentally ignited the side of the home as they attempted to melt ice.

After firefighters arrived, they found a small fire at the exterior wall and that the blaze had been knocked down before it could spread further, the publication reported.

The SFD statement did not further say whether anyone had been injured as a result of the fire. Its post was part of a clarification that came after the department initially incorrectly stated a "flamethrower" was used by the resident, which then led to the home catching on fire.

In the same Facebook post, a fire department spokesperson said: "The post discussed the cause of the fire and mentioned that a 'flamethrower' was being used by the resident of the house. This information was unfortunately not accurate."

The post later said: "We as the Chiefs and Officers of the Seymour Fire Department wish to publicly apologize for any confusion or hard feelings this may have created."

Newsweek has contacted the SFD for comment.

According to statistics available on the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) website, there were 1,291,500 fires in the country in 2019. The number of fires that year fell 3.2 percent when compared to 2010, according to the USFA.

Newsweek previously reported on a viral video that circulated on TikTok that showed an aisle of paper towels inside a Walmart completely up in flames.

The video, posted to the social media app on January 26, showed several rows of Bounty paper towels on fire in an aisle and an employee wearing a yellow vest extinguishing the items.

Geordyn Ader, who uploaded the clip, told Newsweek that the fire was not caused by an angry customer and said the fire could have been caused by a person attempting a "trend" in which people light items in Walmart stores on fire.

Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters