Mom of five dies in horrific fire pit accident
A mother of five has died following a horrific accident involving a fire pit.
Nicole Foltz, 38, from Florida tragically passed away after suffering burns covering nearly 100 percent of her body during the accident in her garden.
The fire was lit by Nicole and her husband Jeff in a bid to keep insects at bay from their home in Tarpon Springs, WFTS reports.
However, when the blaze stopped burning, Nicole decided to light it again and that is when tragedy struck.
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Jeff told Fox 13 News: "I had just gone inside and to my knowledge, she decided to try to keep the fire going, keep the fun going, and she put another log on it and there wasn't much flame at all.
"But she just, I guess, felt to pour a little gas on it, and it would reignite, and it did. I guess it must've travelled the gas stream up to the gas can, and it exploded in her hands."
While Nicole 'actually stopped, dropped and rolled like you are supposed to,' Jeff revealed, it sadly was not enough to save the mum's life.
The accident took place on 14 November and three days later, Nicole passed away from her extensive injuries.
Nicole's son, Jeffrey, 11, was also injured in the accident.
He had to spend 12 days in the hospital after suffering second and third-degree burns, which affected around 40 percent of his body.
His dad recalled: "I never left his side in the hospital, which is difficult, especially because I feel bad for other children there. I can see how it is to not have somebody that can be there for you by your bedside."
The youngster is now at home, recovering not only from his injuries but the recent loss of his mother.
Jeff added: "He's staying pretty strong. I'm sure the whole crew there was really surprised to hear that two days after we got home, he was walking."
Jeffi is now warning other people of the potential dangers of garden fire pits in a bid to stop anyone else from suffering like his family is.
He said: "I don’t want to read about somebody else's family having to go through this. It's unimaginable.
"It’s just one of those senseless acts you don’t expect to happen in your family… gasoline is not a joke when it comes to fire. You have to be careful or just don't do it at all."
Emma Guinness