NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Blount County teen is recovering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after receiving second degree burns in a fireworks explosion.
Authorities said 13-year-old Jake Walker was setting off fireworks in a field in Greenback shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday when he accidentally dropped the lighter he was holding into a bucket of fireworks.
"It set one of them off and then, all at once, everything exploded and they said it was the biggest fire ball they had ever seen," Greenback Fire Chief Ronnie Lett told WATE-TV in Knoxville.
Walker suffered second degree burns on both his hands, his elbow and around his neck. He also suffered minor facial burns.
The teen was rushed to UT Medical Center in Knoxville and later transferred to the burn center at Vanderbilt.
He was last listed in stable condition.
