Nicole Foltz: Florida mom-of-five dies of severe burns after backyard fire pit burst into flames

Nicole Foltz, 38, and her husband, Jeff, had started a fire to keep the bugs away at their home in Tarpon Springs

PUBLISHED DEC 7, 2022

Nicole Foltz who was a mother of 5 children died in a horrific backyard fire accident (Nicole Foltz, Jeff Foltz/Facebook)

TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA: A Florida mother of five died after suffering burns to almost 100 per cent of her body in a horrible backyard fire pit accident that also sent her 11-year-old son to the hospital. Nicole Foltz, 38, was spending time with family and friends by an outside fire on November, 14 when the tragedy took place.

Nicole and her husband, Jeffery Foltz, had started a fire to keep the bugs away at their home in Tarpon Springs, where they were hanging out with friends. Jeffery said that the fire went out while he was inside, and Nicole attempted to relight it. "I had just gone inside and to my knowledge, she decided to try to keep the fire going, keep the fun going," her husband, Jeff, said.

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“She put another log on the fire. She poured the gas into it, and it ignited and blew the can up in her hands which caused her to run, and panic. She actually stopped, dropped, and rolled like you are supposed to,” said Jeff as per WFTS. "Accidents do happen, and they can ruin your life," Foltz added as per FOX13. The explosion hit Nicole Foltz and their son. They were both taken to Tampa General Hospital. Nicole suffered burns to 100 per cent of her body and died three days after in the hospital and his son who had second-degree burns to close to 40 percent of his body returned home after 12 days in the hospital. "He's staying pretty strong," Jeff told WTVT, adding that just "two days after we got home he was walking."

Nicole was a longtime server and manager at the Tarpon Tavern, "She always put a smile on everyone’s face," Ania Bozena, owner of Tarpon Tavern, said. "She absolutely loved her work where everybody adored her not just for her hard work, but also personality and friendship," she said. "She was a devoted wife to her amazing husband Jeff. But most of all, she was a great mother who always put her family first. Here at Tarpon Tavern and our sister restaurant The Bistro which is located next door, we miss her terribly," a report quoted.

“Her radiant smile always filled the room. She was always there for everyone — there for every relative, every friend, every customer, every co-worker, every birthday, every anniversary, every day for everyone,” GoFundMe organizer Dan Jenkin wrote. “We will miss Nicole, but our memories of her are eternal,” he added. "It's just one of those senseless acts you don't expect to happen in your family," Jeffery told a station.

Foltz shared that Nicole was “all around one of the best, genuine people. She had a fierceness to her. Everybody loved her. I don’t want to read about somebody else’s family having to go through this. It’s unimaginable. It’s just one of those senseless acts you don’t expect to happen in your family … gasoline is not a joke when it comes to fire. You have to be careful or just don’t do it at all.”