Girl yelled for boy to 'stop, drop and roll' during gasoline fire

A young boy burned at a home near a Hazel Green business is undergoing treatment at the UAB Burn Center in Birmingham.

A helicopter flew the 5-year-old to Birmingham after he was burned over 70 percent of his body.

A deputy on the scene said the child suffered second and third degree burns from his knees up.

Paramedics and firefighters rushed to the scene on Highway 231/ 431 behind the Tennessee Valley Auto Salvage and Used Car store.

HEMSI, deputies and multiple fire crews were among those to jump into action to try and help the boy after he came into contact with gasoline that was on fire.

The very first person to try and help the child was actually an 11-year-old girl who saw the accident happen and then rushed to help.

A witness said the boy panicked once the fire spread to his body and he began to run around. That's when the neighbor said the girl told him to stop, drop and roll.

Other kids ran toward Highway 231 for help, accidentally causing a 3-car collision. Numerous agencies responded to both the gasoline accident and the car accident.

"We had a lot of emergency vehicles, anytime a child is involved there's multiple agencies responding," said Sergeant Tim Whisante with the Madison County Sheriff's Office. "County Medical responded; gave aid to the juvenile as fast as they could... determined that he had substantial injuries from a burn and he was transported to UAB Hospital via MedFlight."

The neighbor said the family is in Birmingham to be as close to the child as possible as he gets treatment for the burns.

The Madison County Fire Marshall Office and Madison County Sheriff will continue to investigate how the gasoline fire began.

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