Neighbor Bravely Fights Fire That Injured Boy, 2

A Ventura toddler was snatched from his burning bed by his mother Wednesday morning but still received life-threatening burns in an apartment fire caused by older brothers playing with matches beneath the bed, authorities said.

In a second act of heroism, an upstairs neighbor also may have saved the entire 12-unit west Ventura apartment building by venturing three times to douse the burning mattress with fire extinguishers, tenants said.

Alexander Lambert, 2, was in critical condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center’s intensive care burn unit late Wednesday with second-degree burns over about 35% of his body.

“His little body was all burned and his hair was melted together,” said neighbor Renee Bromser, 31, who dialed 911. “He was just rolling around crying.”

The boy’s mother, Sherri Johnson, and her boyfriend quickly grabbed the diaper-clad youngster from his burning twin bed and moved him and two other sons outside the ground-floor apartment before firefighters arrived, police said.

Johnson, 28, was treated for minor burns to her arms and face at Ventura County Medical Center. Neither of the two older boys--ages 4 and 6--were injured. But Johnson’s boyfriend, Jose Martin Gonzales, 34, who was asleep in another room when the fire began, received minor burns, police said.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which was confined to one bedroom of the two-story building at the 48-unit Garden Estates complex on Garden Street. There was no structural damage, but the loss of the gutted bedroom’s contents was estimated at $10,000. The remainder of the residence had smoke damage.

Steven Armstrong, 34, who lives directly above Johnson’s two-bedroom apartment, was credited with containing the mattress fire until firefighters arrived. Armstrong crawled into the smoke-filled apartment three times, discharging three fire extinguishers in an unsuccessful bid to put the fire out.

“I say he’s a hero,” said Frances Garcia, 45, whose two daughters live in a nearby apartment. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what would have happened. I think everybody’s house would have gone up in smoke.”

Armstrong’s quick actions helped confine the fire to one room, said Ventura Fire Capt. Mike Vaughan.

Armstrong, on a day off from his job as a cashier at a Santa Clarita Valley warehouse store, was awakened shortly before 8 a.m. by Johnson’s screams that her apartment was on fire.

He said he grabbed a fire extinguisher from his kitchen, put on a pair of sandals, ran downstairs and entered the bedroom on his knees as thick, black smoke from burning bedclothes swirled above him.

“I thought if I could contain it in the bedroom, then we’re not all going to lose our homes,” he said.

The fire died down but sprang back when the fire extinguisher ran out of foam, said Armstrong, who received firefighting training while in the Air Force.

After swinging the bedroom door shut and retrieving two more extinguishers stored in a nearby wall compartment, he repeated the process twice.

“When I went in the third time the whole room was engulfed,” he said. “I was kind of resigned to the fact it was a little beyond my abilities. The smoke was just incredible.”

Firefighters arrived soon after and extinguished the blaze within four minutes, Battalion Chief Wayne Belitski said.

Afterward, police and fire officials counseled the boys who started the fire.

“Did you learn something today?” said Ventura Police Det. John Leach to the oldest brother. “Don’t play with matches.”