July 5, 2002 * 02-48-01

(JEFFERSON BEACH, Kitsap County) -- A 33 year-old man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center last evening after a tumble into a bonfire left him with serious burns to his hands.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews were called to this community near Kingston shortly after 1:00am. Arriving on the scene, medics found the man's burns to be severe enough to cause his skin to slough from his hands. He suffered less serious injuries to his knees though holes had been burned through his nylon warm-up pants. The Seattle man told crews that he's stumbled on a nearby woodpile during the late evening holiday celebration, landed in the fire pit and quickly jumped back out again.

After consulting with doctors at Bremerton's Harrison Memorial Hospital and taking into consideration that the man's occupation -- tattoo artist -- required the continued use of his hands, medics opted to send the man to the region's burn center at Seattle's Harborview. For his transport, an Airlift Northwest helicopter was summoned to a landing zone at David Wolfle Elementary.