One year in Houston it was unsually cold and the water pipes were starting to freeze. The water pipes in homes there are exposed and uninsulated.
Well, he had a brlliant idea to warm the main water pipe coming into the house. He decided to take an electric space heater connected to an electrical extension cord and place it outside against the pipe coming into the house, and then of course to keep the heat contained, he wrapped a blanket around the heater and the pipe. Luckily, he decided to share this bit of brilliance with me, and I got to the blanket/heater just as it burst into flames.
He had been in Naval Intelligence in DC for several years right before this.