Skaneateles native leading voice on burn injuries

By Jason Gabak
Editor

Margaret Priest Lewis grew up in Skaneateles, graduating with the class of 1983.

Since graduation, Lewis’ life has taken across the country where she calls California home.

Whenever possible, she comes back home to visit friends and family and she has her twin daughters with her.

“They have friends there, it is like home,” Lewis said. “That is one of the great things about growing up in a small town and I want them to have that experience too.”

But her most recent visit to the east coast last week didn’t bring Lewis home, rather she was in Washington D.C.

Lewis was speaking before a congressional panel advocating for legislation concerning regulations for flame arresters on containers of bio fuel.

“It has good support,” Lewis said. “It has support from both sides of the isle. No one is opposing it. It is common sense.”

According to Lewis there are as many as 4,000 cases of people being burned while handling bio fuels that don’t have flame arresters placed on them every year, which she said costs billions of dollars in health care, treatment and litigation each year.

“It is just common sense,” Lewis said. “It is pennies to put the arresters on, a few cents and it can save billions.”

Bio fuel containers when being poured out, even with just fumes, have been found to be volatile according to Lewis, turning into liquid napalm.

Lewis said once ignited the flames are difficult to put out and reach temperatures as high as or higher than 3,000 degrees.

Liquid bio fuels can be found in use in numerous locations from science classes to camping trips and backyard gatherings to fire fighters using chain saws and other equipment.

Lewis said recently during the California wildfires; at least one fire fighter was burned while refilling a chainsaw to combat fires.

But burning incidents can happen most anywhere.

“We should let our kids to go to school they want to learn not to burn,” Lewis said in reference to instances where burns have happened in science classes. “We need to protect our kids and our fire fighters and all it takes is a few cents to place these arresters on the bio fuel container. There is no real expense to the manufacturer and some are already voluntarily doing this and it is really only a few cents more to the consumer. The prices vary a little depending on the retailer, but it is really not anymore expensive.”

While installing flame arresters may only be a few cents, Lewis said some manufacturers will try to save those few cents by skipping this step even knowing the possible hazards associated with not placing arresters on containers.

Some organizations like OSHA and the department of defense require flame arresters according to Lewis because of the potential hazards that have been associated with bio fuels that do not have a flame arrester.

Lewis said she is not a lobbyist and does not have any firm or organizations behind her in this fight for this safety measure.

She is a mother, doing this on her own.

“I don’t take a penny from anyone,” Lewis said. “I do this out of my own pocket. I have two kids in college and I do this on my own. I do this for the fire fighters and EMTs and the kids and teachers in science class and everyone else.”

But it was a very personal reason that Lewis began her advocacy.

It was in 2014 that her daughters were making s’mores in the backyard of their California home on a portable, ventless bio-ethanol fireplace.

When the fire went out, the girls went to refill it, something Lewis said the whole family had done before, they experienced flame jetting and Nicolette was sprayed with the bio-ethanol and quickly engulfed in flames.

Lewis used her own body to put the flames out and Nicolette was rushed to the hospital with severe burns all over her body and had to undergo numerous surgeries and skin grafts.

Lewis said it is hard to describe or imagine all her daughter went through, including not just physical pain but mental and emotional pain as well.

But Lewis said her daughter was fortunate to survive.

Lewis hopes her own experience can serve as a lesson for others and by sharing the reality of the danger the lack of flame arresters poses by speaking and through her research she shares on her website, notyourturntoburn.com, others will be spared this same pain.

“It really isn’t about us,” Lewis said. “We’ve been through this and now it is about all those other people. That is why I do this.”