Boyfriend’s burning passion leads to fire insurance claim

A romantic devil in Sheffield, England, spent two weeks planning a marriage proposal to remember for his sweetheart, but ended up burning down the couple’s home when the stunt went wrong.

Albert Ndrue, 26, filled the couple’s apartment with balloons, candles and 100 tea lights on the floor spelling “Marry Me?” before going to pick up his girlfriend Valerija Madevic, 22, from work, The Sun newspaper reported.

On returning home, the couple saw dark smoke coming out of the flat and alerted the local fire service.

“I wanted to say something like she was the light of my heart, but maybe that was too much light,” Mr. Ndrue told reporters.

Undeterred, when the fire was out and Ms. Madevic finished surveying the rest of the flat for damage, Mr. Ndrue got down on one knee amid the charred remains of their living room and proffered a ring. She said ‘yes.’

The couple are staying with family as they await information on their insurance coverage, the paper reported.

The South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Department, which sent three crews to put out the fire, posted photos of the aftermath on its Facebook page warning visitors that they should extinguish candles after they use them, not put them near inflammable items, such as curtains, and “don’t leave 100s of tea lights unattended.”