Add Us On GoogleAdd as a preferred source on Google
Wash. (KING) – A Washington man managed to fight a raging fire next to his home with a garden hose, all in his birthday suit
It happened just after midnight on July 5 and may have been sparked by fireworks that weren’t properly extinguished
“It’s a sinking feeling in my gut. It’s a situation you never expect to see up close,” Wesley Howard said
A new video out of the South Sumner neighborhood over the holiday weekend shows the steps Howard took to get up close and personal with the raging fire next to his home
“That’s when I started spraying right here. I was this close to it. It was raging seven or eight feet above the fence. This is what I had to do,” Howard said
Flames erupted along the fence line between his home and a neighbor’s
Howard said his fiancé woke him up. Naked and without hesitation, he ran outside and fought the fire. He fought it for about five minutes, using a garden hose
“At that moment, every second matters and that fire could’ve taken off and we could’ve lost both homes. At that point, I don’t care if someone sees me naked for a few seconds if that means saving two homes and two families. Because they have kids, we have kids,” Howard said
Once the flames started to die down, he ran back inside to throw on shorts as his firefighting effort continued
“That’s all I could hear: the crackling of the wood, the brush on the ground and the trash burning on the other side,” Howard said
He held the fire back until East Pierce County Fire arrived about 10 minutes later
Howard served eight years in the Navy, where he trained for moments just like this
“I was using my training. I knew the instinct kicked in and I wasn’t thinking; I was acting,” he said
He suffered minor burns to his foot and forearm
Howard’s home was spared and the one next door sustained only minor damage
The fence has since been replaced
Howard believes the fire may have started from fireworks in his neighbor’s trash bin that hadn’t fully burned out
No matter the cause, it’s an outcome he’ll never take for granted
“One hundred percent, I would not hesitate again. Naked, it doesn’t matter; I would do it again,” Howard said
Howard said firefighters had the fire contained within an hour
Copyright 2026 KING
