Family burned by fire pit improving, friend says

Four members of a family badly burned in a backyard firepit mishap are showing signs of improvement in hospital, a family friend says.

Jake and Tina Hiebert and three of their children suffered severe injuries during a family cookout at a relative's house on July 12 in Port Burwell, southeast of London.

The children — two girls, ages seven and one, and a four-yearold boy — suffered life-threatening injuries, and the parents, Jake, 33, and Tina, 28, were seriously injured, police said at the time of the fire.

The one-year-old girl, Layla, died in hospital Thursday morning.

Eva Enns, a family friend who organized an online fundraiser for the Hiebert family, shared that the conditions of each family member were improving as of Sunday evening.

“Jake's burns are much better. The swelling has gone down on his face,” she said on the fundraising page Sunday.

“Tina is stable and they are hoping to lessen the sedation (Monday).”

The four-year-old boy also remains stable, Enns said, adding “his grafting surgery went well.”

Tina and her son underwent skin grafts, a procedure that uses healthy skin cells from an unaffected part of a burn victim's body to replace lost or damaged cells, covering the wound and speeding healing.

The seven-year-old girl has been moved to a Toronto hospital with her brother.

“She was hungry for food, which is a great sign of improvement,” Enns said.

The parents are being treated in London.

It was about 7 p.m. on July 12 when the Hieberts were having a cookout in the backyard of a Vienna Line home and fuel was added to the fire, a relative told the London Free Press.

The details around what caused the family's injuries that followed have not been released. The OPP and Ontario Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the mishap.

The online fundraiser had raised nearly $67,300 as of Monday.

FIREPIT SAFETY TIPS

Keep a firepit fire contained in size and away from nearby buildings or structures.

Have a water source, such as a garden hose, nearby.

Teach safety to kids, including keeping a distance from the fire.

Keep flammable liquids or fuels away from the fire.

If someone catches on fire, remember the stop, drop and roll response and call 911 immediately.