CENTRAL UTAH -- A woman is warning the public about a potential deadly method of disposing of a tree stump after she and her daughter were severely burned in Central Utah last week.
Karson Bartschi said that her daughter suffered second-degree burns to her cheek and ankles after fumes from diesel traveled off a burning stump and ono the two, who were sitting nearby. Bartschi said that she was severely burned on her legs and on her left hand.
The two were taken from their house to Dixie Regional Medical Center by ambulance, then flown to a Las Vegas hospital's burn unit, where they have been treated for the past week.
Bartschi said that a tree was cut down on her property, leaving a stump. Bartschi looked for tips on how to burn a stump online and read that a highly effective way to get rid of a stump was to drill holes in it, soak the stump in diesel, and then light it on fire.
Bartschi stated that while burning the stump, she and her family sat around the fire and socialized. Throughout the course of the evening, her husband continued to pour diesel on the stump to keep it from extinguishing. The last time Bartschi's husband poured diesel on the flames, the can holding the diesel expanded, and fumes from it caught fire, spraying Bartschi and her young daughter.
"I just want people to know that it is dangerous and it is life changing if something goes wrong," Bartschi said. "We were very lucky we lived."
