It takes a special kind of idiot to decide to get up on the roof of a house with an open flame, but that’s exactly what some workers in the Rockville area of Montgomery County did on Tuesday, the Post reports. They were apparently trying to use a propane torch to clear ice from the roof. Smarties, these ones.

Thankfully, no one was seriously injured when the inevitable fire broke out (one man was taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation), but $1.5 million worth of damage is the lasting legacy of this bonehead move. We’ll let Capt. Oscar Garcia of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service take it away:

“We don’t recommend using an open flame to clean off ice or snow from a roof, and that’s exactly what it was,” Garcia said.

Now you know, kids, and knowing is half the battle.