A man in Idaho received life-threatening third-degree burns across his upper body during a backyard bonfire gone wrong.
Robert Thompson of Twin Falls County attempted to make s’mores with his partner and their two daughters on April 1, according to East Idaho News.
“He went to start the fire but realized he did not have any fire starter. So he just grabbed the gas can that we had,” Thompson’s partner, Kimberly Graybeal, told the outlet.
Graybeal explained that the gas can exploded while Thompson, 25, was holding it, saying, “It is not something we expected.”
“His entire body drew back, and his arms and legs extended. “He just freaking flew,” she added.
According to Graybeal, Thompson had a strong reaction to the incident. “Robert was on the ground, rolling and screaming for his life. He was simply screaming, ‘Please help me!’ Please! I am dying! “Please help me,” she told the outlet.
Graybeal added that Thompson was able to remove his jacket while she ran into the house to get water. Meanwhile, a neighbor called 911.
Rather than waiting for help, Graybeal drove Thompson to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center.
“The hospital told me when I took him there that if I would have waited for an ambulance, he would have died,” she explained to the East Idaho News.
Thompson was later airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where he was put into a medically induced coma.
According to East Idaho News, he has third-degree burns on his torso, “including his neck and face.”
According to Coleen Niemann, a spokesperson for Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Thompson is still in the hospital and his condition “remains the same.”
“I am scared about the future. “I am overwhelmed,” Graybeal, who has been driving the 180 miles between Buhl and Idaho Falls every week, told the outlet.
Graybeal stated on a GoFundMe page that Thompson is their family’s main source of income. Thompson works for the post office, according to the East Idaho News.
Graybeal stated that she created the fundraising page to help cover basic expenses while her partner is unable to work.
In a series of updates on the GoFundMe page, Graybeal stated that Thompson is now “stable” and has undergone two surgeries to remove burned skin from his body.
“It will be a long time before he returns home from the hospital,” the author wrote on the page.