This morning my roommates fire alarm went off. When he left I looked in his room and it looks like he recently bought a blowtorch. He is 24. He smokes pot. He has a snake.
Overall he seems pretty innocuous. He moved in last August, we have no problems so far. He prefers that I not go in his room obviously. Should I tell him to get rid of it? Am I in imminent danger? I don't know what he could be using a blowtorch for. It's about a foot high.
No way. We don't let tenants keep blowtorches or flammable chemicals of any kind in the house, even in our rental houses where we do not live, much less in our actual house.
If you want to not come across as the bad guy, tell him your homeowner's insurance won't let any resident (you or him) own blowtorches. "Sorry man, it's gotta go." Point him to some nearby storage facilities.
As for renter's insurance, it only covers his property and, if you're lucky, his liability for injuries to other people. If he burns down your house, his insurance might pay to replace his stuff (if his insurance covers blowtorch-induced fires, which it might not), but it won't pay for your stuff. You or your homeowner's insurance (if it covers this type of fire) are on the hook for that.