A couple of American homebuyers have been on the receiving end of the most burning example of irony.
Bradley and Penny Mason, from western Pennsylvania, bought a neighbouring vacant house because they feared it was a fire hazard that would burn down and destroy their own home.
Lo and behold, as they were at the courthouse signing the deed, their new purchase burned to the ground, according to the New York Post.
The couple had intended to tear down the house to protect their own property.
A neighbour phoned the firefighters and officials have determined the origins of the fire as suspicious.
Mrs Mason told the newspaper that the home had been sitting empty for a few years and they were unaware of the fire until the fire department had been called.