Updated 13 hours 18 minutes ago
NAMPA — A 21-year-old man is fighting for his life in a Utah burn center after he was seriously burned at his Nampa home Saturday.
The young man sustained second- and third-degree burns on more than 80 percent of his body when he poured gasoline on an outdoor recreational fire to boost the flame, Deputy Fire Chief Doug Strosnider said. The man was holding the gasoline container and the fire traveled back up the liquid fuel as it was being poured onto the fire, officials said.
Fire crews arrived at the home on the 100 block of N. Venice Street at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Heavy fire burst out of a detached garage behind the residence and threatened several area structures.
To safely start and maintain a fire, Deputy Fire Chief Doug Strosnider provided these safety tips:
- Never use ignitable or flammable liquids, including all aerosols.
- Dry wood and dry paper is the best fire starter.
- Use small sticks to get the fire going, then add larger pieces of wood.
- Specialized fire starter can be purchased at sporting goods stores.
The badly burned man was initially treated on location by fire department paramedics, then transported by Canyon County paramedics to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. After a short time at their facility, he was airlifted to the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City.
"It's brutal, absolutely brutal," Strosnider. "It's very difficult when you see someone burned."
Officials have not released the victim's name.
The burn victim, in this case, was running and the oxygen fed the fire, Strosnider said. The accident is a reminder to everyone to stop, drop and roll if caught on fire, he said.
The young man remains in a coma while his severely burned body is treated.
"He's not out of the woods," Strosnider said. "They have to literally scrub your raw body to get rid of the infection. It's absolutely terrible."
Strosnider said the man could be in the burn center for several months, and it is putting a financial strain on his family to be near him.
Donations to help this burn victim can be made at the Nampa Fire Administration Department, 1103 2nd St. S. or at Fire Station #1 in downtown Nampa
