A homeless man set himself on fire in the middle of the street during an annual New Jersey St. Patrick 's Day bar crawl . Hoboken police responded to a call that a man was trying to light himself on fire . When they arrived the unidentified man 's jacket was ablaze . Police told the man to get on the ground and roll so that he could put out the flames , but he ignored them . A homeless man set himself on fire in the middle of the street during an annual Hoboken , New Jersey St. Patrick 's Day bar crawl . He then started screaming as the fire spread to his skin , police said . Officers stepped in and pushed the man to the ground and helped roll him over , according to NJ.com . The fire was quickly extinguished and the man was not seriously injured . He was then transported to a nearby hospital . The incident occurred around 11pm , almost 12 hours since the city 's annual bar crawl began . Twenty-five bars participated in the event , packing the streets with revelers decked in green . By Saturday night at least nine people had been arrested , according to police .
Hoboken police told the man to roll on the ground but he ignored them . The man started screaming as flames spread from his jacket to his skin . Officers pushed him to ground and helped roll him over . Fire was quickly extinguished and he suffered no serious injuries .