Naked Sumner, WA man helps contain fire sparked by leftover fireworks

SUMNER, Wash. - A Sumner man says instinct outweighed embarrassment when he ran outside naked to help fight a fire that broke out next door in the early morning hours of July 5.

Wesley Howard, a 43-year-old Navy veteran, said he was asleep around midnight when his fiancée woke him.

"I got woken up to hear her shouting up the stairs that we need to get out of the house," said Howard.

When he looked outside, he immediately realized the danger.

"I could see the bright orange glow between the two houses," recalled Howard said.

He said he could also hear the fire crackling.

"It was at that split second I had a choice to make," he said.

‘I'm committed now’

Howard said he didn’t stop to get dressed before grabbing a garden hose and trying to keep the flames from spreading.

"My instinct told me to run down the stairs, grab that hose and start fighting regardless of if I had clothes on or not," he explained. "The second I went out that front door and I felt the cool air and went around that corner, I knew right away, ‘This feels weird, but I have to keep going. I’m committed now.’" 

Fire contained until crews arrived

Howard said he and his fiancée used a garden hose and a fire extinguisher to contain the fire until firefighters arrived. At some point, he managed to put on a pair of shorts.

"It was about five minutes naked and 10 minutes with a pair of shorts on before the firefighters showed up," said Howard.

Howard said he escaped with only what he described as "crispy toes."

According to Howard, the fire was caused by leftover fireworks in a neighbor’s trash can. He said the incident is a reminder that fireworks can remain dangerous even after the Fourth of July has passed.

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