Dec 27, 2018 3 min read

A 24-year-old Morris Township man suffered burns on his arms after dragging a burning mattress and box springs through his house and into the yard.

Morris Township fire Chief Dave Dietrich said that when their crews responded to the home, at 1725 Craft Creek Road, the mattress and box springs were burning in the yard and had started melting the siding of the single-family house.

Dietrich said the call came in about 8:50 a.m. for a home on fire. He said the 24-year-old man, an 18-year-old and a 4-year-old were asleep on a mattress in the living room of the house when they woke to the smell of smoke. Dietrich did not identify the residents.

“There were no working smoke detectors in the house,” Dietrich said. “Luckily, they woke up and smelled the smoke. Had it been the middle of the night, it may have been a different outcome.”

Dietrich said the man found the back bedroom on fire. The bed was on fire, and flames were spreading up the walls and into the curtains, he said. Dietrich said the initial call said that everyone was out of the house, but the call was soon updated to “possible entrapment” when the 24-year-old man went back inside.

“I wouldn’t advise anybody to do that,” Dietrich said. “Obviously, when your house is on fire you should just get everyone out. Just get out and stay out, it’s not worth it.”

Dietrich said that the man dragged the mattress and box springs out of the bedroom, through the house and into the yard.

“He probably saved the house, but he had some burns on his arms from carrying them out,” he said.

The man, the 18-year-old and the 4-year-old were all treated at the scene for smoke inhalation by firefighters and EMS workers. Dietrich said that when crews arrived there was heavy smoke in the house, but they were able to put the fire out and ventilate the home, which was insured.

“The main damage was in the rear bedroom,” he said. “It’s still livable, but will need some restoration cleaning.”

Dietrich said a state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, but he suspects it was caused by a power strip that was plugged into a wall underneath the bed. He said it had two plugs in it, including another power strip.

“We try to remind people to check their smoke detectors and change the batteries every first of the year,” Dietrich said.

Assisting Morris Township at the scene were South Franklin, Claysville and West Finley firefighters, along with the Washington County Rapid Intervention Team and Ambulance & Chair Services.