NAME:
Jerry Buist
DATE OF FIRE:
May 15, 1991
AGE AT TIME
OF FIRE:
10
LOCATION:
Paw Paw, Mich.
INJURY:
Burns to 35-45 percent of body – upper half (chest, face), injuries due to
smoke inhalation.
“I wouldn’t want to change anything I’ve been through in my life, but I would also not want any of
you or your families to go through what I’ve been through – and you don’t have to because home
fire sprinklers can prevent that from happening.”
Jerry and his parents had often discussed fire safety, and the day he woke up trapped by flames, he
wished they’d done more than talk. He heard his father’s cries and saw the fire at the top of the basement
stairs. Even in his panic, Jerry new there was no option but to run up and out. He ran through the fire to
escape down the hall. Jerry remembers only brief seconds of pain before waking next in the hospital. He
was 10 years old.
Although 35-45 percent of his body was burned, the greater injury was from smoke inhalation. After a
number of surgeries, he was forced to wear compression garments and a plastic face mask. Mental and
physical scars haunted him throughout his teenage years, and Jerry rebelled against his physical therapy.
A trip to a burn camp changed his life, finally giving him hope. Surrounded by others who understood his
experience and were there to help, Jerry realized that he would one day recover and be able to do all the
things he wanted to do. He would later return to work at that burn camp in Estes Park, Colo.
The wounds have since healed, and he is now able to talk about his experience freely. However, he feels
strongly that no one should ever have to go through the pain and frustration that he experienced. He
knows that home fire sprinklers would have controlled the fire long before it trapped him in the basement.
ABOUT “FACES OF FIRE”
“Faces of Fire” is a project of the National Fire Protection Association funded by a Federal Emergency
Management Agency Fire Prevention and Safety Grant. The campaign is a tool to help people and
groups across the country promote the use of automatic fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes. By
containing fires before they spread, home fire sprinklers protect lives and property. The personal stories
told through the Faces of Fire campaign show the experiences of those who escaped or lost loved ones
in home fires and those whose lives and property were protected by home fire sprinklers.
www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/faces