One of the two teens burned in a weekend accident near Saginaw was trying to help the second one, who had already been burned, relatives said this week.
The teens, identified by relatives as Adrian Rios, 17, and Sergio Pedroza, 18, remained at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas on Thursday. Both were listed in good condition, hospital spokeswoman Melissa Turner said.
Pedroza had been burning trash in a barbecue pit by his house when the accident happened, said Lt. Kent Worley, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman.
Rios was visiting his uncle's house next door on Old Decatur Road on Sunday afternoon, said his mother, Sylvia Richeson.
As Rios' uncle, David Palacios, arrived home, he noticed a fire in some trash and Pedroza on fire behind the Pedroza family house, she said.
Palacios and the Rios children took two fire extinguishers next door to try to help, Richeson said. Pedroza had rolled on the ground and gotten the fire out by the time they got there, Palacios said.
They put out the trash fire, but Palacios noticed a small flame coming out of the top of a gas can, he said. He grabbed the plastic can to move it away from everybody, but it broke open, he said.
Palacios said he tried to toss the burning container away from himself and the house and accidentally splashed flaming gasoline on Rios and on Pedroza, setting him on fire again. He also accidentally set his own arm and foot on fire. They quickly got the fires put out, but Rios suffered second- and third-degree burns on his lower legs and his arms and wrists, Richeson said.
Pedroza had also suffered burns to his arms and legs before Rios was burned. Palacios' burns did not require hospitalization.
"They're all rooting for my son," said Richeson, who works as a truck driver. "I just want everybody to know he did a heroic thing with his uncle trying to save their home, and now he is paying a very big price."
Distributed by the Associated Press
