MOULTRIE — A house guest got burned he tried to prevent a mattress on fire from spreading Sunday afternoon.

Volunteer firefighters from the Westside, Funston and Southside volunteer fire departments were called to 1942 Lower Meigs Road about 2:20 p.m. Sunday about a fire. Firefighters spoke with home owner Thomas Strickland, who stated a house guest, James Searcy, found a bed in a bedroom on fire.

Searcy grabbed the mattress and tossed it outside of the house, preventing any further damage inside the house. After being thrown out, however, the fire did melt some of the house’s siding, damagied some wiring, and caught the back porch on fire. That fire, however, was quickly extinguished by the volunteer firefighters.

Colquitt County EMS was called to the scene to treat Searcy for burns to his hand, and he was taken to Colquitt Regional Medical Center for additional treatment. A hospital spokesperson, however, could not find a record of Searcy being admitted.

No one else was injured in the fire. The cause of the fire was not known.