Staff report
KANNAPOLIS ó Fire Department officials said a Skyland Street woman who suffered severe burns Tuesday had been burning paper in a grill too close to stored gasoline.
The woman, who a neighbor identified as Donette Carter Glenn, sustained burns all over her body and was taken by air to a burn center, according to a press release from the Kannapolis Fire Department.
Fire Department spokeswoman Maria Bostian would not identify the woman Tuesday, nor did she say to what burn center the woman was taken. Bostian did not return a telephone call Wednesday.
Glenn lives at 1007 Skyland St. Viola Watson, who lives across the street, said she heard “a loud pop” around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and saw Glenn standing on her porch with a telephone and crying out in pain as fire and emergency medical vehicles approached.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Kannapolis Fire Inspector Shane Pethel gave a reminder that burning near or with gasoline can be harmful or fatal.
“The vapor off of the liquid is what actually burns,” Pethel said. “Most citizens are not aware of this dangerous fact.”
The Fire Department also warned against using substances such as gasoline or kerosene as fire accelerants and from using matches, lighters or smoking cigarettes around those liquids. As a precaution, the department said, gasoline and other combustibles should be kept at least 25 feet away from grills and other sources of heat.