A Pasco County woman is behind bars after deputies said she set her husband's mattress on fire while he was sleeping in it.

Eva Brennan, 48, facing charges

James Brennan Jr. woke to foot of mattress on fire

Brennan Jr. suffered some burns to his feet

Eva Brennan, 48, faces three counts of attempted murder and arson. Investigators said the incident started on the evening of July 27, when Brennan went to her estranged husband’s house and found another woman there.



Her husband, James Brennan Jr., told us the woman was just his friend. But he said he still had to calm down Eva, who was visibly upset.



“She was not too happy. Would you be happy with you and your man?" said James. "Come on, no way. Of course she wasn’t happy, but I didn’t do anything -- it was just a friend."



James said he kissed and made up with Eva, then went to sleep. Early Friday morning, however, he woke up with the foot of his mattress on fire.



Reports show his son, James Brennan III and his son’s girlfriend, Christie Carr, had to help put the fire out.



“I heard him screaming for my boyfriend, and my boyfriend knew immediately that he needed help. He jumped up. I saw flames," said Carr. "We both grabbed pots and we were trying to put out the water. If we weren’t there, he would’ve died."

Eva Brennan (Photo: Pasco County Sheriff's Office)

James said he suffered some burns to his feet. But he doesn’t think his wife did it, even after she reportedly told Carr that she did.



Instead, James said he may have dropped a cigarette in the bed and sparked the blaze.



“I don’t think she did it," said James. "She’ll say anything, anything to hurt me because she’s trying to get me back."



"I don’t think my wife did this. Maybe it was me. I don’t know,” he said. “It was an accident, yeah, but it’s a 70 percent chance that I did it.”



Detectives with the State Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigation, however, said the cause of the fire is an open flame device under the control of human hands, and this was arson.



James said he didn’t call authorities to report the fire until 12 hours after it happened. He said he had to call deputies when his wife showed up after the fire and ransacked his trailer home.



Eva is facing three attempted murder charges, one for every person in the home at the time. She’s also charged with arson.



In the end, though, James said that’s not enough to keep him and his wife apart. He said he wants to get his wife help for her mental issues and work on their marriage.



“I hope we do. I’ll even go to counseling," said James. "I’ll do anything to save my marriage. You don’t throw 13 years away and seven kids we raised together. You just don’t do that. Eight grandkids. Come on, we’ve been through a lot."