Sulphur toddler, mother recovering from burns after trash fire accident

SULPHUR, La. (KPLC) - It’s been a long and difficult week after an aerosol can thrown into a fire pit exploded, injuring a young child and his mother.

Two-year-old Kayson remains in a medically induced coma at a hospital in Lafayette.

His mother, Hailey Brock, returned home to Sulphur to grab some things she and her son will need during their recovery, and she took some time to show us where the accident happened in the family’s backyard.

“He was playing on his tablet over there and playing with the dog, and I had a bunch of old pool toys and stuff, and so I was starting a fire and I had some trash bags,” Brock said.

Inside one of the bags was a can of sunscreen.

“I asked him if he could back up, and then it exploded,” Brock said.

The explosion caught Kayson’s jacket on fire and left his mother frantic, scrambling to remove it.

The jacket is now a pile of ashes in the yard. Kayson’s grandmother, Laurie Lominac, said firefighters told her it may have saved Kayson from more serious injuries.

“Because he doesn’t have any burns [on his torso], but you see what’s left of his jacket,” Lominac said.

The real hero, she said, is her daughter, who didn’t hesitate to put herself in harm’s way.

“It’s been hard. I’m very proud of her. She saved his life,” Lominac said.

“I’ve had two surgeries, I’ve had skin grafts on three of my fingers, and, I believe, on the top of my hand,” Brock said.

That’s nothing, she said, compared to the emotional toll of seeing her son in his condition.

“He hasn’t had a skin graft yet,” Lominac said. We will find out Friday if he has burns to his face, his right arm and both of his hands.”

Brock said she and Kayson were separated when they got to the hospital after the accident. She was able to see him before he was life-flighted to a pediatric burn center in Lafayette, where he awaits a third surgery.

“He is in a medically induced coma in ICU, and he has pneumonia that they are working on,” Brock, said.

Now that she is out of the hospital, she can visit and talk to him.

“They say he can hear what we’re saying,” Brock said.

The family is talking to Kayson about happier times to come, including an invitation from the Sulphur firefighters who responded.

“They said they’re going to give him the full firehouse tour, so I think he’ll like it,” Brock said.

The family has set up a fundraiser for their recovery, which could take several months. You can donate HERE.

Even as they continue their recovery, Brock hopes her story can serve as a warning to others.

“I never thought something like this would happen, so hopefully it helps somebody,” she said.

Last week we spoke to fire officials about the potential dangers of aerosol cans. They reminded us that burning household trash is illegal in Louisiana because many common products can release dangerous chemicals into the air, ground and water.

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