Clorox Wants to Flush Out Porta Potty Pyro

Year's supply of toilet products for tips that lead to arrest

Porta-potty torcher beware: Clorox aims to flush you out.

The Oakland-based chemical company announced Friday it is putting a "potty patrol" team on the streets of the city.

If they can't catch the potty-pyros, they will pay those who join their stinky fight.

Forget the $5,000 reward they are offering, Clorox will give a year's supply of toilet products for tips that lead to the arrest of the person or persons who have been torching portable toilets over the last few months.

Some say the toilets are targeted because of the way the burn.  It only takes a few minutes and all that is left is a melted pile of plastic turquoise mess, along with the expected stench.

"These people, I don't think they're criminals, but they are kind of out of their minds to do that," Far West Sanitation & Storage containers president Alex Rodriguez told the Associated Press last month.

San Francisco resident Rob Spectre set up his own map to track the porta-potty-pyro and it shows the cluster of incidents surrounds the Marina, Russian Hill and North Beach neighborhoods.

So does that mean there is a method to the torch madness?  Who knows.

Since November, more than two dozen construction site toilets have been set on fire in the city, causing an estimated $50,000 in property damage.

Explaining Clorox's interest in the wiping out the unknown prankster, company spokesman Dan Gagen quips, "You could say that it's a crappy job, but somebody's got to do it."

Brilliant marketing move or wipe out?  You be the judge.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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