By Ignacio Perez
Chattanooga Times Free Press
WHITFIELD COUNTY, Ga. — Around 15 teenagers were injured in Whitfield County after a bonfire grew unexpectedly when an attendant allegedly threw flammable liquid into it, according to one of the victims.
Niko Bilic and Jayden Abscon were attending a party in Varnell, Georgia, sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday when the bonfire grew rapidly, they said by phone.
| MORE: Why unified command succeeds or fails before the first unit arrives
“All of the sudden, just a freaking gust of flame just shoots out right at me,” Bilic said. “My hair is on fire. My shirt is on fire. I take off all my clothes, and I was just running.”
He ran for help to an ambulance stationed about a quarter mile away, he said. He was then airlifted to a burn center in Atlanta.
Abscon experienced a burn only on his finger, but the jacket he was wearing was heavily affected.
“Fortunately, Niko didn’t have to have skin grafts, but he did have second- and third-degree burns,” Bilic’s mom, Holly Bilic, said. “It’s definitely a call no parent wants to receive.”
Bilic’s friends called his mom to tell her what had happened. Niko Bilic said he plans to press charges against the teenager who allegedly threw the flammable liquid into the bonfire.
Three other victims were airlifted to hospitals across the Southeast, including Augusta, Georgia and Nashville, according to Holly Bilic.
The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to requests for comment. The agency just after 11 p.m. Saturday posted on Facebook that emergency responders were in the area of Otis Way and Lake Kathy Road for a medical call involving a large bonfire.
“Callers reported that multiple people received burns and injuries,” the post said.
© 2026 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
Visit www.timesfreepress.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.