CINCINNATI —  With the cold weather settling in and Christmas and New Year's celebration fast approaching, you may feel the urge to use space heaters, decorative lights or fireworks.

But doctors and one burn victim are warning about the potential dangers that can turn even festive occasions into tragedies.

What You Need To Know

  • Doctors say around the holidays they see more burn patients who've been burned by things like space heaters, cooking fires and extreme cold 

  • Jim Witterstaetter knows what that's like after 20% of his body was burned by gunpowder in fireworks, now he's warning others to take precautions 

  • Doctors say to remember the basics, stop, drop, and roll if you're outdoors, and cool the burn 

Jim Witterstaetter still has the scars after what happened to him more than 20 years ago.

“I had a skid, reached over and grabbed the skid. It was just a wooden thing, just getting rid of extra stuff, swung around and I was right over top of that box,” said Witterstaetter.

He said that box was filled with gunpowder that he’d been using to put on pro fireworks shows.

“The gunpowder went off with a big whoosh, and basically, you know, I immediately knew I was in trouble,” said Witterstaetter.

His clothes caught fire, and he was rushed to the hospital in Cincinnati with severe burns covering 20% of his body. 

His daughter, Susan Kuerze, saw the aftermath of it all.

“I had never seen anything like that before and so it was horrible, seeing his ears kind of hang on the pillow like everything was swollen,” said Kuerze. 

The burn center team at UC Health says what happened to him is a warning this time of year. 

“There’s certain things that occur more frequently around the holidays in particular. We see a lot more grease burns, accidents around the kitchen I think also include scald burns,” said Petra Warner, burn director at UC Health.

They say to make sure your smoke alarm and fire extinguisher are working to prevent burn emergencies, but if you still get burned, remember the basics, stop, drop and roll, and check for red flags. 

“The deeper the burns get, the less pain the patients will feel because the burn injury can cause damage to the nerves and we see a lot of patients that will follow up in clinic and they initially did not go seek help,” said Chad McGarvie, nurse program manager for Burn Center at UC Health. 

In Witterstaetter’s case, those burns led to surgeries, and something else unexpected. 

His daughter became an air flight nurse herself and is now airlifting patients like he was.  

“Getting into the back of a squad with a burn patient was very difficult, especially if you weren’t prepared,” said Kuerze.

But just like her dad, she’s helping them heal. 

“I still wish it didn’t happen, but I’m glad she took the path she took,” said Witterstaetter.

Doctors said if you get burned check for blisters and signs of infection and reach out to your doctor.