A Big Scare

Since nothing much is happening in my life, I thought I would let you know about my brother's life; well, it is my brother's best friend's life. His name is Jarrett. Jarrett went down to Idaho to visit his friends that he grew up with last week and they were having a bonfire at a girl's house in her backyard. The girl hosting the party decided that she was going to pour gasoline on the fire after it was already going to get the fire bigger. Jarrett told her that was not a good idea and turned around to walk away from the fire. The girl didn't listen and poured gasoline on the fire, which travelled up the pouring gasoline to the can and exploded, blowing everyone away. Jarrett woke up a few seconds later several feet away from where he was standing and was on fire. He rolled in the dirt and put himself out and then looked for the girl and her other girlfriend, who were standing together at the fire when it exploded. They were both engulfed in flames. Jarrett and another boy got one girl to roll and put the fire out but Justine, the girl holding the can, took a little longer. They were all life flighted to Salt Lake and they don't think Justine is going to make it. Her friend, Sammy, is in critical condition. Jarrett was burned on the right side of his body from his neck down to his hand with 2nd degree burns. He is okay, but will have to have therapy on his arm and hand and go to a burn center to get rebandaged for the next couple months.

This has been really hard for my family to go through because Jarrett was like another son to my mom and a brother to Brian. It is such a sad thing to happen and a really bad accident. All of the kids are LDS and good kids. It is sad to think of the scars they will each carry with them, not only physically, but also emotionally from seeing their friends dying and hurting. However, without going into too much detail, (a plug for Boy Scouts here) Jarrett knew exactly what to do to keep Justine and Sammy in the best "condition" until emergency crews arrived. If it wasn't for his quick thinking, despite his own burns, those girls wouldn't have had a chance.

We are so thankful Jarrett turned at last minute away from the fire and was not harmed further, but it is still so sad for those girls and their families.