Mother to parents: Warn kids about gasoline

CINCINNATI - Donna Greer, of Louisville, wants parents and families to learn from her family's misfortune.

Her son Michael Bauman, 12, is being treated at Shriner's Hospital for Children in Cincinnati.  It was Dec. 19 when Michael, while visiting relatives, wanted to make an outdoor fire larger.

Michael took a can of gas and poured it onto the fire.

"He said he heard a 'woosh,'" said Greer.

The flames traced the gas upstream and back into the can and onto Michael's clothes.  He forgot to 'stop, drop and roll' and subsequently suffered burns to 64 percent of his body.

"Please keep all of the gasoline cans locked up," warns Greer.

Within three hours of the accident Bauman arrived at Shriner's.  His mother tells 9 News that he should make a full physical recovery but his appearance will be forever altered.

"This week is Burn Awareness Week," said Louise Hoelker a spokesperson for Shriner's. "Tweens and teens, ages 10-14 years old, are four times more likely to get in trouble with gasoline."

Hoelker says improper use and storage of gasoline leads to thousands of pediatric burns every year.

"Michael knows what he did was a mistake," said Greer "When gets well enough he wants to go to schools to make sure other kids don't make the same mistake he did."