Mom ‘engulfed in flames’ and suffered burns to 48% of her body in horrific smoker BBQ explosion

Isabell Anderson, a mother of three from York County, PA, was engulfed in flames in a smoker incident on Memorial Day. - (GoFundMe)

A Pennsylvania community is seeking donations for a mother badly burned in a Memorial Day smoker explosion, suffering burns on over 46 percent of her body.

Isabell Anderson of York County was using a smoker when the flames suddenly engulfed her arms, chest, neck and face, according to a GoFundMe created by her friend Amber Sklar to help with her medical and living expenses.

“She was literally lit on fire, and worst of all… the children saw everything,” Sklar wrote.

Anderson was taken to a burn center two hours away to be treated.

“She’s now in excruciating pain, battling a high fever and infection, and none of the pain medications have worked,” Sklar wrote, adding in an update Tuesday that Anderson is now “living in constant awareness of her skin.”

Anderson (left) and her friend, Amber Sklar, live and raise their children together. (GoFundMe)

Sklar said she and Anderson moved into a house together to raise their kids. Anderson homeschools her three children, as well as Sklar’s child, and also cares for her children's father, who has been battling cancer since December 2023.

The woman said she pays the mortgage while Anderson pays the utilities, groceries, gas, car payments and feeds the animals. But after Anderson’s tragic incident, the whole blended family is struggling.

“The mortgage is due. Groceries are running low. The utilities are piling up. The kids are hurting, opening the fridge, hoping for something that isn’t there. We’re trying to keep life "normal" for them, but the truth is - we need help,” Sklar wrote.

Anderson’s GoFundMe has raised over $1,700 toward its $4,500 goal.