A man in Idaho had life-threatening third-degree burns throughout his upper body following a backyard bonfire gone bad.
Robert Thompson of Twin Falls County attempted to cook s’mores with his spouse and their two daughters on April 1, according to reports.
“He went to go start the fire, and he realized he didn’t have any fire starter. So he just grabbed the gas can that we have,” Thompson’s partner, Kimberly Graybeal, recalled to the outlet.
Graybeal explained that the petrol can exploded while Thompson, 25, was holding it, saying, “It’s not something we expected.”
“His whole body went back, and his arms and his legs went out. He just freaking flew,” she continued.
According to Graybeal, Thompson had a strong reaction to the occurrence. “Robert was on the ground rolling, screaming for his life. He was just screaming, ‘Please help me! Please! I’m dying! Please help me,’ ” she told the outlet.
Graybeal stated that Thompson was able to remove his jacket as she hurried into the house to get water. Meanwhile, a neighbour contacted 911.
Rather than waiting for aid, Graybeal drove Thompson to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Centre.
“The hospital told me when I took him there that if I would’ve waited for an ambulance, he would’ve died,” she explained to the East Idaho News.
Thompson was eventually taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Centre in Idaho Falls, where he was put into a medically induced coma.
According to East Idaho News, he suffers third-degree burns on his torso, “including his neck and face.”
“I am scared for the future. I am overwhelmed,” Graybeal — who has been making the 180 mile drive between Buhl and Idaho Falls each week — told the outlet.
According to Coleen Niemann, a spokesman for Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Centre, Thompson is still in the hospital and his status “remains the same.”
