Woman wakes up with mattress on fire

An Abbeville woman was lying in bed and felt her feet getting warmer than usual. When she checked, she saw the end of her mattress on fire.
She popped out of bed and tried to put out the fire, but her mattress became engulfed in the fire.
The woman ran to get her son-in-law for help.
“When I ran to go into her room, half the mattress was on fire,” said Gary Stelly. “I ran back to grab my phone and then turned back and saw the entire room on fire.”
At the time of the fire, there were three boys, Stelly’s wife and his mother-in-law sleeping in the house.
They all escaped through the front door of the house as the fire began to move forward.
The house is located on LeBlanc Street in Abbeville.
By the time the family went outside, the fire had spread throughout the house.
They could only watch as the Abbeville Fire Department and the Erath Volunteer Fire Department battled the fire.
Stelly said he is not sure how the fire started. All he knows was that there was an electrical fan near the foot of his mother-in-law’s mattress. He was not sure if that started the fire.
Abbeville Fire Chief Jude Mire said he called in assistance from Erath because he noticed the Abbeville firemen battling the heat inside the house, as well as, the heat outside.
The two departments had the house fire under control by 2:30 a.m. and returned to the station by 3 a.m.
An Abbeville fireman was slightly injured because he fell through the floor in the front room and front porch. He is, however, expected to return to work this week.
In the meantime, the Stelly family is not sure what their next move will be. They will begin looking for a new place to rent. They also contacted the Red Cross.
The only thing he managed to save was his cell phone. Friday morning his family went through the burnt items in search of vehicle keys. They discovered one key for the SUV, which did have fire damage.
“It could have been a lot worse,” said Stelly. “We just made it out. In a matter of minutes, the house went up.”
If anyone wants to help, Stelly’s phone number is 323-8568.