SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Springfield man was arrested for setting fire to a mattress in an apartment causing minor injuries to the occupants.

According to a probable cause statement from the Springfield Fire Department, Bradley W. Lee, 35, was charged with first-degree arson.

On March 20, Lee was in an argument with a resident over Lee’s property. The resident left the apartment and later returned with a female only to discover Lee had thrown items around the house. The resident and female stayed in one of the bedrooms while Lee stayed in a different room.

At 5:10 a.m., the next morning, the female heard the smoke alarm going off. She observed smoke coming from Lee’s room. She alerted the resident and went to the living room where she saw Lee exiting the townhouse through the kitchen door.

The resident went to Lee’s room to discover a twin-size mattress on fire. He attempted to extinguish it, but the fire continued to spread.

The resident reported the fire spread to an upholstered chair and other lightweight combustibles in the room. The resident also reported minor burns to the palms of his hands.

Firefighters arrived to help extinguish the fire completely.

The Fire Marshal determined the fire originated in the middle of the mattress, away from accidental ignition sources.

“The only competent ignition source found in the area of origin was a BIC lighter—tested and
determined to be functional,” said the marshal in the probable cause statement. “I concluded the fire was intentionally started by a suspect using an open flame device, such as a lighter, to ignite the mattress on fire, which damaged several pieces of furniture, drywall, carpet, and other personal belongings.”

Lee was contacted by Springfield police in relation to another 911 call and was detained by police.

During Lee’s arrest, a red BIC lighter was found in his pocket.

The probable cause statement says that at least 11 people were in the complex at the time of the mattress fire in the apartment. Evidence also suggested that the smoke alarm in the bedroom where the fire started was removed from the hardwiring connection, which resulted in the fire spreading to the hallway before another alarm was activated.

A bond hearing has been set for April 2 at 8:30 a.m.