Person Used a Hose to Put out Their Neighbor's Fire, Sparks Debate Online

As the Canadian wildfires continue spreading hazy smoke across parts of the United States, officials warn residents about the poor air quality and urge them to cease recreational fires for the time being. However, some are ignoring the strict fire ban — like this one man in the wildly popular "AITA" subreddit.

On June 7, 2023, a person took to the popular subreddit to share a recent interaction with their neighbor. The original poster, who goes by the handle u/Electrical_Summer492, said they used a hose to put out their neighbor's fire. Read on for more details. Plus, stick around to see who fellow Redditors deemed the a-hole.

The user began by stating that their sky is "literally orange and filled with smoke already," and several weather alerts were issued for smoke pollution and unhealthy air quality. They added that their entire area is on an "extremely strict fire ban" because of the dangerous situation.

Once the sun went down, the Redditor went outside to water their garden and saw their neighbor starting a fire. They yelled over and told him about the fire ban, but the neighbor claimed it was contained. He added that they're "not in a forest," so it shouldn't matter. In response, the OP took their hose and "soaked his entire fire pit and all of the wood."

As expected, the neighbor wasn't too thrilled; he cussed out the Redditor and threatened to call the cops. The OP told him to call, as the police would agree that the neighbor was in the wrong due to the fire ban.

"There have been many homes destroyed, animals who have lost their lives, and firefighters out there who are trying their best to contain it. Why have an open fire when it is not necessary?" the OP wrote before asking the well-known question we all love: "Am I the A------?"

Before fellow Redditors had to chance to comment on the situation, the OP explained why they think they might be in the wrong. They wrote, "I may be the AH for soaking his fire when I may as well have just called in on him. He is an AH for many other reasons though, and this was just the tip of the iceberg for me."

Eventually, the comments came flooding in — and most are on the OP's side.

One user wrote, "NTA, but next time, call the fire department. It's their job to take care of things like this, and you can even do so anonymously to protect yourself from retaliation."

"For sure! I would have called the fire department though, with everything going on here, I felt that it would be taking them away from real emergencies when I could handle this myself," the OP replied. Nevertheless, they reassured the OP and said the neighbor's fire had the potential to be a real emergency.

Another user commented, "YTA but the a------ we need," which sparked others to say the OP is a "justified a------."

"Justified a------!! Thank you," Redditor u/slendermanismydad declared, while a third user said, "NTA. Was it the nicest thing to do? Not really. But was it 100 percent justified? Yes, it was."

Reddit user u/some-shady-dude agreed with the others: "YTA but justified," they wrote. "Even fire in a pit can become out of control, especially if [the] surrounding area is dry grass. My question is though, why TF is he lighting a fire pit in the middle of a damn forest fire?" That's what we're wondering too!

Where do you stand? Should the OP have put out the fire?