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Boy Scout recovering after fireball severely burns body

By Dave Faherty, wsoctv.com
By Dave Faherty, wsoctv.com

CONOVER, N.C. — A Boy Scout, hands and arms wrapped in bandages, described the terrifying moment when flammable liquid ignited and burned parts of his body.

Two Boy Scouts from Catawba County were seriously burned last week while working on a camping project at a church.

PAST COVERAGE: 2 Boy Scouts burned in flash fire behind Conover church

Gannon Bishop showed reporter Dave Faherty the injuries to his face arms and ears as he continues to recover from what he describes as a freak accident at his church in Conover.

"My shirt caught on fire," Bishop, 14, said. "My face, parts of it was on fire. I was the first one to stop drop and roll."

The teenagers were making homemade canned heat containers by putting the bottom of two aluminum cans together.

They were being supervised by adults and were using a fluid called Heet with the help of an adult when some of it ignited, firefighters said.

"The flame caught the bottle on fire, and it shot out like a fireball, hitting me and an 11-year-old behind me," Bishop said.

Bishop has second-degree burns to 14 percent of his body.

The injuries to his face look like a bad sunburn, but he should make a full recovery, his mother said.

The adults ran toward Bishop, and when they pulled his shirt off the flame went out.

"I just remember holding my hands up so it wouldn't get in my eyes, and I screamed one time and that was the only time you heard me," Bishop said.

The teenager has to clean his burns every four hours.

He wants to continue his journey to become an Eagle Scout and said he was glad he was the one who was hurt instead one of the younger children.

"It was better that it was me, because I was one of the older ones, and I could take the hit, and I knew I'm a big kid, and I could take it," Bishop said.


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