'Please Pray': Pastor Severely Burned, Remains in ICU - 'Sounded Like a Bomb Went Off'
Kevin Corey, a Virginia pastor, remains in intensive care after suffering severe burns in an accident at his home on the evening of Jan. 30. While he was incinerating documents from old files in his backyard fire pit, a gas can exploded in his hands.
Corey was the youth pastor at Calvary Road Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. He was transitioning from that job to take the senior pastor's position with another congregation, according to churchleaders.com. He and his wife were in the process of moving to Glasgow, Virginia, to be closer to their daughter Jenna Guercia, the outlet reported.
The Coreys' neighbors in the Newington area of Fairfax County told WRC-TV they heard and also felt the force of a loud explosion that evening.
"It shook our house, I would say," Max Miller told the outlet. "It sounded like a bomb went off and it felt like an earthquake."
The incident was captured on video by a neighbor's Ring camera.
"You see him add an accelerant, which happened to be a gas can," Sherry Weaver told the outlet. "Then you hear this big explosion, and the gas can was too close to the fire, and it exploded in his hands."
The video showed an enormous plume of fire as Corey backed away from the fire pit, according to WRC-TV.
"Unfortunately, the gas can, it sprayed all over him, and you then see him drop down to the ground, and the fire just followed him, and he was on fire," Weaver said.
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The video showed Corey's wife Becky running toward him while carrying a rug. She used it to snuff out the flames that were still on his body, according to the outlet.
"The last thing that you hear on my Ring camera is, 'I'm alive, I'm alive,'" she recalled.
Corey was airlifted by helicopter to a DC burn center where doctors determined he suffered third-degree burns over 65% of his body.
"It's going to be a slow recovery, but we're hopeful," Guercia told the outlet.
Becky Corey suffered first and second-degree burns on her hands while attempting to help her husband. She was treated and released, according to WRC-TV.
Family Asks for Continued Prayers
Since the accident, Guercia has updated her father's progress on Facebook. She noted he has already gone through one surgery with 19 more to go, and he's now on dialysis and antibiotics as his body fights an infection.
She also asked for prayers, noting specific prayer requests for Corey and the family. In addition to financial support, she also asked for people to donate blood or plasma.
"Please keep us all in your prayers," Guercia wrote.
She also asked for people to please send a card or picture to remind her dad of the love and support he's receiving from family and friends.
"Thank you for continually checking in on us and praying for my dad. We've told him today that the throne room of God is being continuously inundated on his behalf," Guercia wrote in a post on Sunday.
In addition, she also added a photo showing a verse from the book of Isaiah found in the Bible's Old Testament.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flame shall not consume you." -- Isaiah 43: 2
A Meal Train page has been set up for the Corey family to help support them financially.
So far, $4,285 has been raised from the $10,000 goal.
"Kevin had the first of at least 20 surgeries; please pray that the grafts will be accepted by his body and that God will block all infection," the page stated.
