A Florida mom has died following a freak accident in November involving her family’s backyard fire pit.
Nicole Foltz (pictured above) and her husband Jeff Foltz were in their backyard in early November, a place where she loved to garden and decorate, when they decided to light their fire pit to keep insects away as they hung out with friends. The fire ended up faltering after a while and Jeff went inside — so Nicole decided to try and reignite it, he 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.”
After the extra log on the fire didn’t help keep it ignited, his wife decided to take more dangerous measures:
“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 traveled the gas stream up to the gas can, and it exploded in her hands.”
Jeff told WFTS his wife panicked and “actually stopped, dropped, and rolled like you are supposed to”, but despite this she was engulfed in flames. She suffered burns on nearly 100% of her entire body. So, so sad…
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Nicole wasn’t the only one injured in the mayhem, though. The couple’s 11-year-old son Jeffrey was also burned by the flames, suffering second and third degree burns on 40% of his body. Tragically, his mother passed away only three days after the incident. The boy survived, but had to spend 12 days in the hospital. He’s still at home recovering, according to his dad:
“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 24/7. 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.”
The mom was a very loved and bright member of the Tarpon Springs community, as said in a GoFundMe organized to raise money for the family’s ongoing medical and funeral expenses:
“Nicole was loved so much because she truly loved life. Nicole worked as a server/manager at The Tarpon Tavern for many years. Her radiant smile always filled the room. She was always there for everyone – there for every relative, every friend, every customer, every coworker, every birthday, every anniversary, every day for every one. We will miss Nicole, but our memories of her are eternal.”
Heartbreaking. If you’d like to donate to the family, you can do so here.
Such a tragic accident, our hearts go out to Nicole’s family and loved ones.
R.I.P.
[Image via GoFundMe/Fox 13 Tampa Bay/YouTube]
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