By Nancy McCleary
The Fayetteville Observer
RAEFORD, N.C. — A Hoke County fire chief who was seriously burned while battling a woods fire will undergo a skin graft procedure Tuesday as he continues to recover from his injuries.
Michael Scott, chief of the Hillcrest Fire Department, is being treated at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill for burns on his arms and face.
Scott was hurt Friday when an outdoors fire on Lawrence McCollum Road spread to an aluminum storage shed filled with equipment and flammable liquids, said Maj. Freddy Johnson Sr. of the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office.
Scott was standing near the door of the shed when another firefighter went in, setting off an explosion from the built-up gas vapors, Johnson said.
Scott’s hair, eyebrows, whiskers and eyelashes were singed and he had second- and third-degree burns on his arms.
Doctors will clean his wounds and graft “pigskin” onto his forearms, Scott’s wife, Michelle Scott, said today.
She also is a firefighter with the Hillcrest Fire Department and was working the fire when her husband was burned.
“He’s holding up,” she said of her husband. “Just keep him in your prayers.”
Marc Sykes, a Hillcrest firefighter, created a GoFundMe page for the Scott family, which includes two children.
“The fire department is his life,” Sykes wrote of Scott, “however he works a full-time job in an effort to provide a stable life for his family.
“During this time, unfortunately, he will be unable to perform basic tasks and will not be able to provide for his family.”
The goal is to raise $25,000.
“No amount is too small, no amount will go unnoticed. Medical bills, loss of income, and unforeseen debts will continue to come months after the wounds begin to heal.”
The effort had brought in $1,490 as of this afternoon.
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