A pub-crawler was out and about at the popular night spot collective Franziskaner Square, a hub of activity hosting several bars and restaurants in Graz, Austria, when he noticed an emergency. The man, undoubtedly a few pints into his evening, noticed that the building across from the Franziskaner Church was on fire, so he did what any good Samaritan would do: he called the fire department. They raced to the scene, evacuated all the bars and restaurants in the area, and went to put out the apartment building’s flaming roof, only to find out that the burning embers were actually the glowing torsos of a swarm of fireflies.
As it turns out, the floodlights that spotlight the church actually are powerful enough to attract the attention of fireflies. Hence, the swarm on the building across the street from the church. Turns out the bugs were drawn by the light. Thirty minutes after the panicky evacuation, everything was reopened.
Tags: roof fire turns out to be fireflies, fireflies, false alarms, drunks, Graz, Austria, Franziskaner Square, fireflies mistaken for fire, mistakes, unusual insects
