California teen severely burned by tabletop fire pit

(KTLA) – A Southern California teen is recovering from severe burns after flames exploded from a tabletop fire pit.

On July 6, Viana Poggi, 18, was making s’mores with her family at her Laguna Niguel home. Their fire pit requires isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol for refills. When Poggi poured the liquid into the pit, she didn’t realize that a small flame was still burning inside.

The flames instantly flared and hit Poggi on her face and hands. 

“It was so hot, it was cold,” she recalled. “It felt like being struck by lightning or what I imagine it would feel like. It felt like I was freezing.”

Her cousin, Alaina Arbiso, acted quickly and pulled Poggi into the pool before paramedics arrived.

“She was on fire, so I wasn’t sure what else to do,” Arbiso told Nexstar’s KTLA. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Fire, water, get in there!’ It was fight or flight the whole time up until she left [for the hospital].”

Poggi was rushed by paramedics to a local burn unit where she received treatment for second and third-degree burns.

She underwent two major skin surgeries. While recovering in the hospital and with her head still bandaged, Poggi decided to document her journey on social media, while choosing to look on the bright side.

Filmed from her hospital room, her lighthearted TikTok videos focus on seeing the positive in an otherwise difficult situation. Her videos have since been viewed millions of times.

Poggi hopes that by sharing her story, she can warn others who own tabletop fire pits about the dangers of using them. 

“You can’t hear it coming,” she said of the sudden flare-up. “You can’t see it coming. It’s instant.”

She said nurses at the hospital seemed to be aware of similar incidents involving the popular backyard products.

“Even when I got to the ICU, I told them I had been flashed back with fire and they were asking me, ‘Is it rubbing alcohol?’ because most of the burn patients in there usually get burned by fires like this,” Poggi said.

Poggi recently hit a milestone when her bandages were finally removed and she was able to return home. A recent high school graduate, Poggi is scheduled to start her freshman year at the University of San Francisco in two weeks.

She had been working three jobs to save up for her college tuition — as a nail technician, a swim instructor and a nanny. Despite the accident, Poggi said she’s very determined to continue moving forward and begin college without delay.

“I just want to keep going,” she said. “This has ruined my July, but it’s not going to ruin my first year of college.”

A GoFundMe page to help Poggi with medical expenses has been set up by members of her family.