Two CdA children burned when gas explodes

Two young Coeur d’Alene children are recovering in a Seattle hospital after they were burned when a gas can exploded next to a backyard fire pit Saturday evening. Joshua Emerson, 8, and Brooklynne White, 4, were rushed to Kootenai Health following the explosion around 5 p.m. The children were flown that night to the burn center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Emerson is in intensive care with first- and second-degree burns on 21 percent of his body, mostly his legs and arms, a family member said Monday. The girl received burns on 9 percent of her body. The children are neighbors in the 1400 block of Norlyn Court. A 35-year-old man poured gasoline from a 5-gallon can onto a fire pit when the can caught fire, Coeur d’Alene police said. He threw the can about five feet behind him, where it exploded and engulfed the children, who had been sitting on a swing. He and the girl’s father put out the flames on the two children. Detectives interviewed the man responsible for the fire and said he was cooperative, police Sgt. Christie Wood said. A report on injury to a child will be reviewed by county prosecutors before any determination is made on filing charges, Wood said. Two fundraising efforts have been established to help the families with expenses: Joshua Emerson
Brooklynne & Joshua fund