Police in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania are looking for a man who they say set multiple fires to deal with spiders.

The witness told officers he attempted several times to extinguish the fires, but Sean McDermott continued to relight them.

Sean McDermott, 36, is accused of arson after setting his home on fire because "he needed to kill the spiders," leading to the destruction of several neighboring homes, according to police.

Emergency crews battled a blaze and evacuated patients from a northeastern Pennsylvania hospital after a fire broke out.