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Topsham Boy, 12, Severely Burned in Backyard Fire Pit Flash Fire

Investigators are probing reports that gasoline was used to start the fire.

Overview

  • Topsham police answered a call to a Coot Lane home, where they found a 12-year-old on the front porch with severe burns.
  • First responders took the boy to Maine Medical Center in Portland before a transfer to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he remains in serious condition.
  • The Maine Fire Marshal's Office says the children tried to light a backyard fire pit using gasoline to speed ignition.
  • Officials report an apparent flash fire involving the gas can spilled fuel onto the 12-year-old, which then ignited.
  • A second child was taken by a parent to a local hospital for smoke inhalation and was treated and released.