Former Wash. Firefighter Tosses Flaming Mattress

Dec. 02--BREMERTON -- A former volunteer firefighter quickly extinguished a mattress that caught fire by throwing it out of the window of an apartment unit Saturday.

The call reporting a fire at a Naval Avenue apartment complex came in around 4:30 p.m., according to acting battalion chief John Payne of the Bremerton Fire Department.

Children had turned on the heater that was near the mattress, despite being told not to by their parents, Payne said.

Smoke alarms went off and the father, who said he was a former volunteer firefighter, threw the queen-sized mattress out the window of their second-floor apartment unit. Flames were gone by the time firefighters arrived, Payne said.

Copyright 2012 - Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, Wash.