BELMONT, N.C. — A teenage aspiring chef is recovering after a terrible accident involving a grease fire.
Family members said 15-year-old Joshua Kellar has burns on 25% of his body after a grease fire broke out at his Belmont home. His family said he was cooking them dinner, as he always does, when the fire suddenly broke out.
The teen’s mom told NBC Charlotte as soon as he lifted the lid off the pot, it exploded, and the fire spread to the floor. He was able to put it out, but he paid a big price.
Photos showed the trail of grease that sparked the horrific chain of events. NBC Charlotte talked to a close family friend, Mark Tweddale, about the incident.
"(He was) cooking dinner for the rest of the family when they got home from church and wanted to make fried chicken for his mom," said Tweddale.
Tweddale went to the hospital last Wednesday night when Kellar was airlifted to the burn unit at Wake Forest Baptist. The teen suffered 3rd-degree burns.
"(He) did not even get a chance to put the chicken in the pan, as soon as he lifted the cover from the pan, that grease ignited," said Tweddale. "(He) slipped while he was trying to put it out, landed right in the fire."
NBC Charlotte has reported on the danger of grease fires around Thanksgiving. Experts said to take several important safety steps:
- Never use a frozen turkey because the ice and water will react with hot oil
- Don’t overfill the oil in the pot
- Don’t use water to fight the fire because it will only make things worse
Kellar's family said he credited his experience as a Boy Scout for being able to put out the fire with household items like kitchen towels.
"In my eyes, he’s a hero for what he did," Tweddale said. "Instead of just running out, leaving his dogs in there, leaving the house to go up in flames, and ended up paying the price for it."
Kellar's family said he’s been in extreme pain over the past 24 hours since his first surgery on Wednesday which involved a skin graft. For now, he remains in the burn unit’s ICU.
"Just to see his feet bandaged and arm, he’d look like he’d been through it," said Tweddale.
Now doctors are waiting to see how Kellar's skin heals, but he has weeks or months of recovery ahead.