Michigan State Fan Sets Himself on Fire by Sitting on Burning Couch

A Michigan State football fan was set ablaze after he sat on a burning couch during a celebration of their team's victory over rivals Michigan.

Fans started setting fire to couches in the streets of East Lansing after the Spartans beat rivals Wolverines 37-33 on Saturday.

But one fan appeared to have made a lucky escape after his clothes caught fire as he sat on a burning couch in the middle of the street.

A video shared by account @AyeThatsLee was uploaded to social media website Twitter that showed the fire spreading on the Michigan State fan's clothes before other Spartans supporters stepped in to rescue him.

Seconds into the clip, a group of three people pulled the fan up, attempted to smother out the flames, and threw the supporter to the ground where they continued to extinguish the fire.

As the camera zoomed in on the fan's face, it appeared as if he made light of the situation and was, in fact, smiling.

Other footage showed people standing around burning couches, filming it or posing alongside the burning furniture.

Another video uploaded by The State News reporter Drew Gotetzka showed Michigan State fans kicking a flipped car.

A man from the crowd was then seen attempting to stop one of the fans who continued to kick the vehicle when he stepped away.

According to The Detroit News, firefighters arrived to attend blazes in the Cedar Village Apartments near Bogue and East Grand Village Street, close to student and residential homes.

The outlet added that by 8:20 p.m. there were no new fires in the areas where firefighters had attended blazes.

Jaquan Kincaid, 19, told The Detroit News that the result unlikely had an effect on whether fires would have been set or not.

He said: "Just college kids having fun."

East Lansing Mayor Jessy Gregg shared her thoughts on the vandalism following Michigan State's win.

In a Facebook post shared earlier today, she said: "It's tempting to write off the arson and the vandalism as high spirits but last night I witnessed a kerosene-soaked couch on fire two feet away from a line of parked cars, and another fully engaged fire directly under a powerline, with flames high enough that there was concern for the integrity of the wires. And that's just the two fires that I was on the scene for.

"And obviously the car flipping is unacceptable. I haven't heard yet if there were any alcohol-related fatalities last night, but there were many medical assistance calls for unresponsive and incapacitated persons. We have alcohol poisoning deaths in most years, occasionally even incoming students who don't survive welcome week."

She added: "I hope that we can use our outrage to fuel real change. I refuse to stand idle while a dedicated group of bad actors distract from the good work that is being done by the rest of the MSU community."

Days ahead of the game, the East Lansing Police Department shared a Facebook post telling people not to set fires.

The post, shared on Wednesday, read: "Setting fire in the community is dangerous and places an unnecessary burden on the city's critical emergency services.

"Anyone caught setting a fire could face arson charges and/ or other charges. If community members see someone starting a fire, they should call 911."

Newsweek has contacted the East Lansing Police Department and the East Lansing Fire Department for comment.