Couch burning is more than just a punchline to a joke involving West Virginia students celebrating football victories. It’s apparently a big enough problem that the government had to get involved.
Morgantown, W.V. passed a law on Tuesday banning the use of upholstered furniture outside. They can try to spin that as much as they want, but outside upholstered furniture reads couches in big, bold letters, as there wasn’t exactly a rash of La-Z-Boys threatening the public safety and welfare of Morgantown residents.
Via West Virginia Public Broadcasting:
Morgantown City Manager Jeff Mikorski said the ban is an attempt to stem the number of fires that often spring up after West Virginia University games.
“Over the last 10 years, we’ve had over 3,000 street fires because of the quick ability to bring furniture from porches and put it into the streets and put them on fire,” he said.
The city will give a written warning, and then violators will be subject to a fine of up to $500. Something tells me this isn’t going to stop couch burning at West Virginia, but at least it might make people think twice – or save the burning for the really important wins, like 70-33.
