posted August 8, 2006
For the second time in three days, a four-year-old boy has set fire to a mattress with a lighter. This time, the incident resulted in an injury.
Chattanooga firefighters responded to a reported fire at 2823 5th Ave. at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday. Lt. Eddie Ellison with Engine 9 said Latanya Ballenger, 23, was asleep on a bed. Her four-year-old son was in the bedroom with her, and while she slept, he reportedly set fire to the mattress and box springs with a lighter.
What exactly happened next is unclear, but Ms. Ballenger woke up to discover the bed was on fire. In her haste to get up, she said she stumbled and ended up burning her left leg. Lt. Ellison said someone in the house got a portable fire extinguisher and put the fire out. All the firefighters had to do was carry the burned mattresses out to the front yard. The mattresses were the only things seriously damaged by the fire.
Ms. Ballenger was transported by Hamilton County EMS to Erlanger Medical Center. Lt. Ellison said her injuries were not life-threatening. No other injuries were reported, and no charges will be filed against the boy.
Just last Sunday, a four-year-old boy set fire to a mattress in a four unit apartment building at 3822 Montview Dr. No one was injured, but the fire gutted two apartment units and caused an estimated $80,000 in damages.
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