Sheila Fitzke had just gotten home from walking her dog Tuesday evening when she heard an explosion. When she went outside, she saw flames and heard screaming, coming from the front yard of a house across the street. She saw a figure running to the back of the house, and stood in shock until her neighbor three houses down yelled for her to call 911.
A 9-year-old boy was on fire.
GASOLINE SAFETY TIPS
This accident coincides with Burn Awareness Week. In an effort to prevent similar tragedies, the Chattanooga Fire Department offers the following safety tips for gasoline:Keep gasoline out of children’s sight and reach. Children should never handle gasoline. If fire does start while handling gasoline, do not attempt to extinguish the fire or stop the flow of gasoline. Leave the area immediately, and call for help. Do not use or store gasoline near possible ignition sources (i.e., electrical devices, oil- or gas-fired appliances, or any other device that contains a pilot flame or a spark). Store gasoline outside the home (i.e., in a garage or lawn shed) in a tightly closed metal or plastic container approved by an independent testing laboratory or the local or state fire authorities. Never store gasoline in glass containers or non-reusable plastic containers (i.e., milk jugs). Store only enough gasoline necessary to power equipment, and let machinery cool before refueling it. Never use gasoline inside the home or as a cleaning agent. Clean up spills promptly and discard cleanup materials properly. Do not smoke when handling gasoline. Never use gasoline in place of kerosene. Use caution when fueling automobiles. Do not get in and out of the automobile while fueling. Although rare, an electrical charge on your body could spark a fire, especially during the dry winter months. Only fill portable gasoline containers outdoors. Place the container on the ground before filling and never fill containers inside a vehicle or in the bed of a pickup truck. Follow all manufacturers’ instructions when using electronic devices (those with batteries or connected to an electrical outlet) near gasoline.
According to a news release from the Chattanooga Fire Department, an adult relative of the boy was burning trash in the front yard of the home in East Lake, and at some point the boy got hold of a can of gasoline and he caught fire.
The details surrounding how the boy came into possession of the gasoline can and whether he was supervised at the time are still being investigated, officials said.
Ramone Williams, who was in a house across the street, told firefighters he looked outside after hearing the explosion and saw the boy running and on fire. Williams and his girlfriend ran outside and yelled for the boy to “stop, drop and roll,” but the boy kept running in panic. According to Fitzke, Williams slung the boy to the ground, covered the boy in his leather jacket, and started beating out the flames. Fitzke said that, by the time the fire department arrived, the flames on the boy had been put out.
“That man is a hero,” Fitzke said. “If it wasn’t for him, that boy wouldn’t be alive right now.”
According to the fire department’s report, the boy suffered second- and third-degree burns to 50 percent of his body, mostly from the waist down. Hamilton County EMS rushed the boy to Children’s Hospital at Erlanger for treatment. According to an updated release from the fire department Wednesday, the boy was transferred to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga.
Fitzke, a pre-K teacher, teared up and said it was hard seeing someone, especially a child, suffer that way.
“Please keep that little boy and his family in your prayers,” she said.
Contact staff writer Will Healey at whealey@times freepress.com or 423-757-6731.