A 9-year-old boy was badly burned in a trash fire on Tuesday evening in East Lake.
The boy was rushed to the hospital with second and third degree burns covering approximately 50 percent of his body, according to Bruce Garner, spokesman for the Chattanooga Fire Department.
The fire department received a call reporting a fire at 3510 5th Ave., in East Lake, about 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Garner said.
Lt. Henry McElvain with the Fire Investigation Division said an adult relative was burning trash in the front yard of the house, when the boy obtained a can of gasoline.
What happened next, resulting in the boy's burns, remains under investigation, according to Garner.