Don Tatman escaped injury Monday morning when the riding mower he was piloting caught fire.
Tatman had been mowing a lot near the intersection of State and Benton streets when he stopped to retrieve a piece of cardboard lying in his path.
Tatman said he was tempted to not stop, and simply ride over the piece of cardboard.
“I don’t know what made me stop,” he said.
He then turned around to the mower engulfed in flames.
Firefighters were on the scene and minutes, and had to battle the pesky blaze for some time, continuously spraying water on the mower until they were able to add fire retardant liquid to douse the flames completely.
Tatman noted the mower’s fuel tank was full.
