Close call tonight.

[moto-zen]

My lady and I were ready to turn in for the night when we smelled something that was no bueno. Turns out the water heater located in our son's closet had caught fire. Everyone is just fine, but a little shaken up. Poor kid was terrified. He had every right to be. Pulled out of bed in the middle of the night only to see smoke and flames from his closet, and dad with his face covered and spraying fire extinguisher.
Trying to calm down now. I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

[Big Troubled Bear]

Shit, at least you all are fine

[TiNi]

WoW!

glad you are all ok!

that was a close call...

[NAKID]

Holy crap man! Glad you're OK.

What kinda builder puts a water heater in bedroom?

[dolci]

Glad you're all ok - that's scary!

[mitt]

WOW

mitt

[LMT]

Glad you are all OK.  +1 for having an extinguisher.

I had the water heater in my bedroom closet for a year as a kid.  The red light scared me. Glad it never caught fire.

[GAAN]

Yeah yeah FIRE



Good job dad

[red baron]

How the heck does a water heater catch fire?


Glad you are all safe.

[Scottish]

Way to protect the off-spring man. Not much more terrifying than the thought of harm coming to a little one. 

[Le Pirate]

How the heck does a water heater catch fire?


Glad you are all safe.

I'm curious too....


better check my water heater when I get home


glad you are all safe man 

[mitt]

How the heck does a water heater catch fire?


Glad you are all safe.

Usually the water heater doesn't itself catch fire, but things that are piled too close to it do, like clothes or boxes.

No idea how it happening in the OP's case.

mitt

[iDuc]

Think I'll go home and check the batteries in my smoke detector...

Glad you are all OK!!

[numbskull]

Glad everyone is safe. Water heaters are dangerous if not checked once in a while. If the pressure release valve stops working, pressure builds until the whole thing goes boom.

[moto-zen]

Joys of living in a mobile home. Thanks for all the kind words everyone. I couldn't be more ready to move out of this place than i am right now. Three weeks to go, and we are Orlando bound.
1. The kind of person to put a hot water heater in a closet is the same kind of numb nuts to put carpet in EVERY room of the house excluding the kitchen. Let me tell ya, bathroom carpet is a very nasty idea.
2. It looks like it was the wiring in the breaker near the bottom of the heater. That is where the flames were coming from. Thankfully, I had previously had a water leak from the same heater some months back. I never got around to putting the access panel back up. Because of that I had unimpeded access to the heater. All things work together for the good.
Thanks again for letting me share my tales of heroism. (And helping me settle my nerves)