Utah boy suffers serious burns after pouring gas on campfire, firefighters say

HURRICANE, Utah — A 12-year-old boy suffered serious injuries after firefighters say he was burned as a result of pouring gasoline on a campfire in southern Utah Saturday evening.

Firefighters responded to a Hurricane home on a report of a person with burns, according to Hurricane Valley Fire District Capt. Tyler Ames. They arrived to find a fire in the backyard of the home had been extinguished and a boy had serious burns to his legs.

A group of juveniles were having a campfire in the backyard behind the home when the boy poured gasoline onto the fire.

“He threw gasoline on, and some of it got onto his leg and got onto his shoe, and that caught on fire,” Ames said. “We believe he proceeded to kind of go around the backyard because there were lots of burn marks around the entire backyard.”

Someone from the group or neighbors rushed in and stopped the fire, the fire captain added. The boy was initially taken to a hospital in Hurricane before he was transferred to a burn unit in Las Vegas later that evening.

The child suffered second- and third-degree burns to 8% of his body surface, mainly his leg and foot, the fire agency posted on Facebook Sunday. Ames did not have an update on the boy’s condition Monday; however, he said the boy suffered a circumferential burn, which created “even more concern.”

“We hope for the best for the boy and his family, and hope he recovers quickly,” he said.

The incident has prompted a pair of fire safety reminders: First, Ames said people should never pour highly flammable substances like gasoline on an active fire, under any circumstances.

Hurricane Valley Fire District officials issued a public service reminder about the importance of “stop, drop and roll” in case of a fire, as well. But the ages of the group involved may have factored into what happened over the weekend, Ames said. He said they may have “lost their composure a little bit” when the boy caught on fire.

“When emergencies happen — if we’re not prepared for it — our mindset is not in the right spot,” he said. “We want to promote — just stop, cover your face and then roll and try to smother it.”