The man who tried to rescue his dog from a Frederick house fire remains in intensive care, family members say.
“He is in good spirits,” his mother, Betty Stone, said Thursday night.
Calvin Franklin “Skip” Stone Jr., 37, was burned Tuesday after he opened the front door of his home in the 4200 block of Buckeystown Pike.
The house was engulfed in flames when Stone attempted to run inside and save the family dog, Bolt.
The dog died in the fire, and Stone was flown to MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
“The first thing he asked me was about Bolt,” Betty Stone said. “He is very upset that he couldn’t save the family’s pet.”
Stone’s father buried Bolt in the backyard Thursday while his son continued to recover in the hospital’s burn center.
“I did it early so they wouldn’t see,” Calvin Stone said.
Nearly 20 people have visited the hospital since the incident, Stone’s mother said. But some of them were directed to the wrong burn center after rescue crews wrongly told the family that Stone was being taken to Baltimore.
The confusion was settled before Stone had surgery Wednesday on his left leg, his mother said.
A blast of flames blew Stone backward, and his leg was broken. About 20 percent of Stone’s body was burned, including his face, ears, hand, back and arms, the family said.
“His lungs and throat are full of soot,” Betty Stone said, noting that Stone’s recovery is expected to take six months or more.
“Some of the wounds are kind of deep … so they are talking about putting pigskin on some of the burns,” Betty Stone said.
The pig skin will help the wounds scab and heal, she said.
As Stone heals, his family will be looking after his two sons.
Tuscarora High School plans to donate gift cards to the family for food, clothes and gas, Betty Stone said.
Friends of the family are also pulling together toiletries and clothes for Stone’s two sons, C.J. and Joey.
“People know that Skip is a good person,” said Bobbie Scott, Stone’s neighbor. “It always seems like the good guy finishes last.”
