Conn. Farmer Known for Art Displays Seriously Burned After Pants Catch Fire in ‘Freak Accident’
The incident happened at Beaumont Farms in Wallingford, where the 64-year-old man puts up free artistic displays for the community to enjoy
Go Fund Me
Billy Beaumont of Wallingford, ConnecticutA Connecticut farmer has returned home for the first time in three weeks after he was burned in what family friends describe as a “freak accident.”
Billy Beaumont was working at Beaumont Farms on East Center Street in Wallingford when “his pants caught fire” and burned his legs and hands, according to a GoFundMe campaign created by the Lohmann family.
The 64-year-old inadvertently splashed gasoline on his pant leg before starting up his tractor, which caused a spark that ignited the blaze, the New Haven Register and the Record-Journal reported.
He was eventually transported to Bridgeport Hospital, where he received “life saving treatment” for the “significant burns” and blood clots that resulted from the incident, the Lohmanns said.
Beaumont underwent “several skin grafts and surgeries” to address his injuries while hospitalized, according to the GoFundMe.
But the Wallingford man remained “in good spirits” despite his injuries. He returned home on Sunday as he continues to recover, per the New Haven Register.
“I'll be fine before you know it, and we’ll be right back to normal,” Beaumont said.
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Beaumont owns the farm in Wallingford where he was injured. The property is often decorated with “incredibly creative and stunning exhibits” that children and adults can explore for free, according to the Lohmann family.
Some characters that have been featured in Beaumont’s displays include M&Ms, Frozen, Peanuts and A Christmas Story.
“Billy is a man of great joy and generosity which can be easily seen through his creative passions and heard in his infectious laughter,” the family wrote on GoFundMe, noting that Beaumont “never asks for anything in return.”
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Beaumont is “unable to work for several more months” due to his injuries. But that is not stopping his loved ones from continuing to share his “labors of love” with the community.
Friends and family hope to transform the current Candy Land display into something Halloween themed to match the season, according to the New Haven Register and Record-Journal.
Before the accident, Beaumont “agreed to help the Wallingford Public Schools with some fundraising to do a spooky Halloween Candy Land,” Lisa Lohmann said, per the Record-Journal.
“Billy has always been the guy who would drop whatever he was doing to come help,” she told the New Haven Register.
More than $33,000 has been raised via the GoFundMe campaign to help the farmer “get back on his feet as he overcomes these tremendous medical and financial hurdles.”
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