'...I'm on fire, I'm on fire,' MI Woman Yells as Gown Bursts into Flames

Dec. 14, 2023
A candle ignited the Plymouth woman's gown during a church Christmas performance.

"I heard her screaming, 'I'm on fire, I'm on fire."

Gale Erlich will never forget hearing her daughter's terrifying words.

Sandy Springstead remembers singing 'Silent Night' and as she was walking up a ramp at the annual church Christmas show her gown brushed a candle.

"The next thing I know, the back of my gown was on fire," she told WXYZ.

As she recovers from burns that cover about 30 percent of her body and unable to sit up, she thinks about her annual Christmas tradition with family and friends. 

"The first thing I cried about when people came to visit was not being able to finish that show." 

She remains in the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. 

 

 

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