By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-03 11:43:51 | Updated at 2024-10-05 09:25:40
1 day ago
A British holidaymaker was left with severe burns after she was set after a gust of wind blew flames on her while she was fire dancing.
Beatrice Francovschi had travelled solo to a festival in Indiana, USA, for a fun weekend away with friends - but things quickly went awry.
The Milton Keynes native had taken up fire performing as a hobby and side business for the last three years, and decided to put on a show at the campsite with another performer.
But it was only mere seconds later that tragedy struck, when wind blew one of her fuel soaked fans, spraying vapours and fuel onto her clothes and body, setting her aflame instantly.
The 32-year-old was rushed to hospital with second and third degree burns across her upper body and face, whilst also being lumbered with a set of 'astronomical' medical bills.
Beatrice Francovschi,32, (Pictured fire dancing) travelled to a festival in Indiana, USA, for a fun weekend away and to meet with friends
However, the Milton Keynes native who does fire dancing as a hobby was burnt when a gust of wind blew flames on to her body and clothes
Beatrice claimed the fuel used in the US is more 'volatile and flammable', causing her to sustain burns on 20 per cent of her body in just a few seconds.
The systems analyst was airlifted to a specialist burns unit where she is still recovering from her extensive injuries, with doctors initially fearing the inflammation around her neck could cause breathing problems.
Beatrice has also revealed that her holiday insurance does not cover the incident - and is expecting a bill of potentially hundreds of thousands dollars after being discharged.
'I've been doing fire performing as a hobby and side business for three years and have never had any accidents or burns and don't know of anyone else who has,' she said.
'On the Saturday night I was talking with a girl who also does fire performing and we decided to do a small show for the people on the camp site with us. It was just an impromptu thing with a small group of people.
'Unfortunately I didn't know that the fuel was so different to what I am used to using in the UK and it is a lot more volatile and flammable with a higher burn temperature as well as flammable vapours.
'As I lifted the fan, a gust of wind blew the vapours and some of the fuel off the wicks of the fan and onto my clothes and body, setting me on fire.
'I was in pain and shock but knew to keep calm, not to breathe in and to keep my eyes and mouth closed and to drop to the floor.
Beatrice (Pictured in hospital) was quickly rushed to hospital, where at one point she thought she was 'going to die
She was left with second and third degree burns on her upper chest and face as doctors feared inflammation could cause her issues with breathing
She added: 'My hand, arm, shoulder and chest were on fire and the flames were going up over my neck, face and head, luckily I had recently had a shower and my hair was wet so it didn't catch fire.'
Nearby bystanders rushed to her aid, dousing the flames in a matter of seconds before Beatrice was rushed to hospital with extensive injuries.
At one point the 32-year-old fear she would die, having never had an accident whilst doing the hobby previously.
Beatrice said: 'Those couple of seconds were all it took for me to sustain second and third degree burns to almost 20 percent of my body including my face.
'They were worried that my airways were going to close due to the swelling around my neck. I've never had an accident before. I didn't know what was going to happen.
'When they intubated me, I thought 'am I going to die?' It was terrifying. The hospital staff have been amazing.'
After being airlifted to a specialist burns unit, Beatrice underwent surgery to have the worst affected areas of her skin removed and will soon have skin grafts taken.
'Those couple of seconds were all it took for me to sustain second and third degree burns to almost 20 percent of my body including my face,' Beatrice revealed whilst recalling the accident
Now the systems analyst fears an 'astronomical' medical bill when she leaves the US hospital
Due to the nature of Beatrice's accident, her insurance company isn't going to cover medical costs - leaving her in potentially 'astronomical' debt.
Best friend Kali Tattersall has since launched a GoFundMe to help cover Beatrice's medical bills after she is discharged.
Just over £2,000 of the £15,000 goal has been raised to help cover Beatrice's medical bills so far.
Kali said: 'It's going to be astronomical. We have no idea how much it's going to be. From what we've seen online, it's an insane amount of money for standard things.
'She's in a specialist unit and had a helicopter ride. It could be hundreds of thousands.'
