Firemen in Austria responded to a house fire that was caused by a cleaning robot that somehow switched itself back on and ended up on a stove while the family was out.

The far fetched incident caused a media firestorm with speculations on whether the robot was over worked and hopped onto the hotplate in a suicide bid.

The DailyMail reports, Fireman Helmut Kniewasser was one of those called to tackle the blaze at Hinterstoder in Kirchdorf, Austria.

He said: 'The home-owner had put the small robot on the work surface to clean up some spilled cereal. Once the robot had done its job it was switched off but left on the kitchen sideboard.

'The 44-year-old house owner, together with his wife and son, then left the house and were not home when the robot set off.

'Somehow it seems to have reactivated itself and made its way along the work surface where it pushed a cooking pot out of the way and basically that was the end of it.

'It pretty quickly started to melt underneath and then stuck to the kitchen hotplate. It then caught fire. By the time we arrived, it was just a pile of ash.

The homeowner said: 'The company that makes the robots is selling dangerous devices, I intend to sue to get compensation. It has ruined my home as everything is smoke damaged.'

One thing the homeowner doesn't mention is why the hot plate was still on while the family was out of the home.....A robot/human insurance plot for sure or at minimum - rise of the suicidal machines!