Nicole Foltz, Tarpon Springs, Florida mom of five dies from burns after throwing gas on backyard fire to keep it alive. Tragic error that had lethal consequences.
A tragic error that had fatal consequences… A Florida mother of five who suffered burns to 100% of her body following a family backyard fire last month has passed away.
Nicole Foltz, 38, and her husband, Jeff, started a fire last month to keep bugs away at their home in Tarpon Springs, whilst hanging out with friends, WFTS reported.
At some point the fire fizzled out and Nicole tried to reignite it.
‘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,’ the husband told Fox 13 News.
‘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 explained.
‘Speechless in my grief’
Jeff said that his panicked wife ‘actually stopped, dropped and rolled like you are supposed to.’
Despite her efforts, Nicole was overwhelmed by the flames and suffered burns on almost 100% of her body. She died three days after the Nov. 14 accident, the woman’s husband said.
The incident also let to the couple’s 11 year old son, Jeffrey, suffering second- and third-degree burns over about 40% of his body and spending 12 days in hospital.
‘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,’ Jeff Foltz told WFTS.
‘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,’ his dad told Fox 13.
Posted Jeff on Facebook on November 23, ‘We are on the path of recovery and healing in so many ways. I’m usually a man of many words but I’m left speechless in my grief. She is truly missed in so many ways’.
The mom of five was a longtime server and manager at the Tarpon Tavern, according to a GoFundMe account for the family.
Eternal memories
‘Her radiant smile always filled the room. She was always there for everyone — there for every relative, every friend, every customer, every co-worker, every birthday, every anniversary, every day for every one,’ fundraiser organizer Dan Jenkin wrote.
‘We will miss Nicole, but our memories of her are eternal,’ he added.
Tavern owner Ania Bozena also remembered her loved employee.
‘She absolutely loved her work where everybody adored her not just for her hard work, but also personality and friendship,’ she told Fox 13.
‘She was a devoted wife to her amazing husband, Jeff. But most of all, she was a great mother who always put her family first,’ Bozena added.
On Friday night, Tarpon Tavern and sister eatery The Bistro donated 10% of their proceeds to the devastated family.
Fire hazard
Foltz described Nicole as ‘all around one of the best, genuine people. She had a fierceness to her. Everybody loved her.’
He urged people to learn about and practice fire safety.
‘I don’t want to read about somebody else’s family having to go through this. It’s unimaginable,’ he told WFTS. ‘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.’
He said the family will turn the fire pit into a bird bath, which Nicole always wanted in the backyard.
