POULSBO, Washington - A Poulsbo teenager who used gasoline to destroy tent caterpillars is learning a painful lesson. Now, he wants to warn others.
Luke Demick, 14, asked us not to show his burned face. His extensive burns are a painful reminder of a simple chore gone terribly wrong.
"I was cutting down caterpillar branches, branches with big nests in them," he said.
Luke was doing what many of us are doing, trying to get rid of one of the worst infestations of tent caterpillars in years.
Luke used gasoline to set the branches on fire.
His first mistake was pouring the gas into a small cup. When the fire flared up, it ignited the vapors still coming from the cup.
Luke's clothes erupted in flames.
"I don't really remember -- all I remember is rolling around on the ground and darkness from pulling my shirt off," he said.
Luke's mom Stacy was across the yard. She screamed at him to drop and roll.
"It happens very fast and it just keeps going," Stacy said. "It was horrific, it was horrible."
After the flames were out, Stacy cooled Luke's second and third degree burns with a garden hose until help arrived.
"It hit me right away how awful it was," Stacy Demick said. "I was just beside myself."
Want to learn more?
http://www.komotv.com/stories/25105.htm
Luke Demick, 14, asked us not to show his burned face. His extensive burns are a painful reminder of a simple chore gone terribly wrong.
"I was cutting down caterpillar branches, branches with big nests in them," he said.
Luke was doing what many of us are doing, trying to get rid of one of the worst infestations of tent caterpillars in years.
Luke used gasoline to set the branches on fire.
His first mistake was pouring the gas into a small cup. When the fire flared up, it ignited the vapors still coming from the cup.
Luke's clothes erupted in flames.
"I don't really remember -- all I remember is rolling around on the ground and darkness from pulling my shirt off," he said.
Luke's mom Stacy was across the yard. She screamed at him to drop and roll.
"It happens very fast and it just keeps going," Stacy said. "It was horrific, it was horrible."
After the flames were out, Stacy cooled Luke's second and third degree burns with a garden hose until help arrived.
"It hit me right away how awful it was," Stacy Demick said. "I was just beside myself."
Want to learn more?
http://www.komotv.com/stories/25105.htm
