By Tim Leeds
A Havre woman is in critical but stable condition today at the University of Utah's Intermountain Burn Center after she was burned in a cooking accident in her kitchen.
Lillian Hammond was cooking Wednesday night about 6:30 p.m. when her blouse caught on fire, said her husband, Ralph Hammond. She took the blouse off and he stomped it out on the floor, he said.
Ralph said he is on oxygen and said he can't get around very well, so Lillian drove herself to Northern Montana Hospital. The hospital staff decided Wednesday night that she should go to the burn center, he said. He didn't know she was badly burned right after the incident.
"I didn't know that she was, but you can't tell by looking," he said.
Kara Nelson, spokeswoman for the burn center, said Lillian Hammond is burned on 9.5 percent of her body. She said hospital staff can't determine at this point what treatment will be necessary or how long Lillian will have to remain in the hospital.
Hammond, 72, is very active in the Havre community and is a carrier for the Havre Daily News.
