'We're here to have fun, not to do stupid things'
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FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- For any teenager, rocking out on the guitar is a dream. For teenager Kyle Byquist, rocking out on the guitar is a dream he thought would never be the same again.
"I feel safe when I play music. I feel like I can pour every bit of myself into it," he said, before tearing into the electric guitar and jamming on a few songs. "[It] could've been much worse, but [it was] still a really scary experience."
Byquist, of Federal Way, was among five teenagers who sustained serious burns after a bonfire accident in West Seattle Monday night.
The group - all students who'd just graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Federal Way - had gathered to partake in an unofficial tradition: burning homework on Alki Beach to mark the end of high school.
Byquist said there were strict rules for attending the event: no alcohol, no drugs, and no plastic, but police say one teen apparently violated at least two of those rules.
"We're here to have fun, not to do stupid things," said Byquist. "It didn't really make sense about how he was so adamant about pouring gas on the fire. We all backed away from it. And I tried to get him to stop multiple times. Like, 'hey man, let's not do anything stupid. Let's enjoy it. Let's not pour gas on the fire. You don't need to do that.' "
Witnesses told police the teenager - identified by law enforcement sources as Marshall Herrick - appeared intoxicated, and continued to pour an accelerant on the fire anyway. At one point, he spilled so much fluid, it created an explosion - injuring Byquist, Herrick, and at least three others.
"In the blink of an eye, it went from a pretty fun night to a pretty big medical emergency," Byquist said.
Byquist, along with the others, was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, with burns on the right side of his body, including around his ear and on his face.
"I didn't cry for my own wounds," Byquist said, about his time in the emergency room. "It was seeing my other friends injured that was the hardest part for me. It's something I would never wish for anybody to have to go through."
Although the fire burned his right arm, it only left a few blisters on his fingers and spared his hands. It was a crucial moment for Byquist, who is attending college in the fall at the University of Redlands on a partial scholarship to study music.
Doctors say playing music - and staying active - will actually help Byquist's skin heal.
"It feels really good," he said, after playing Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" on the saxophone. "Emotionally, now it's just dealing with the anger, dealing with the injury that's inside rather than outside."
"I feel safe when I play music. I feel like I can pour every bit of myself into it," he said, before tearing into the electric guitar and jamming on a few songs. "[It] could've been much worse, but [it was] still a really scary experience."
Byquist, of Federal Way, was among five teenagers who sustained serious burns after a bonfire accident in West Seattle Monday night.
The group - all students who'd just graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Federal Way - had gathered to partake in an unofficial tradition: burning homework on Alki Beach to mark the end of high school.
Byquist said there were strict rules for attending the event: no alcohol, no drugs, and no plastic, but police say one teen apparently violated at least two of those rules.
"We're here to have fun, not to do stupid things," said Byquist. "It didn't really make sense about how he was so adamant about pouring gas on the fire. We all backed away from it. And I tried to get him to stop multiple times. Like, 'hey man, let's not do anything stupid. Let's enjoy it. Let's not pour gas on the fire. You don't need to do that.' "
Witnesses told police the teenager - identified by law enforcement sources as Marshall Herrick - appeared intoxicated, and continued to pour an accelerant on the fire anyway. At one point, he spilled so much fluid, it created an explosion - injuring Byquist, Herrick, and at least three others.
"In the blink of an eye, it went from a pretty fun night to a pretty big medical emergency," Byquist said.
Byquist, along with the others, was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, with burns on the right side of his body, including around his ear and on his face.
"I didn't cry for my own wounds," Byquist said, about his time in the emergency room. "It was seeing my other friends injured that was the hardest part for me. It's something I would never wish for anybody to have to go through."
Although the fire burned his right arm, it only left a few blisters on his fingers and spared his hands. It was a crucial moment for Byquist, who is attending college in the fall at the University of Redlands on a partial scholarship to study music.
Doctors say playing music - and staying active - will actually help Byquist's skin heal.
"It feels really good," he said, after playing Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" on the saxophone. "Emotionally, now it's just dealing with the anger, dealing with the injury that's inside rather than outside."
