Burn victim's friends hopeful

Electrician Robert Eury, 29, of Bloomington was in Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis Thursday with second- and third-degree burns covering nearly 90 percent of his body. \nIt has been nearly a week since he was critically injured in an electrical blast at the site of the not-yet-complete Super Wal-Mart, where 12,000 volts of electricity created an arc that lit him and two of his co-workers on fire Aug. 26. \nEury was able to escape the electrified room, crawling outside the back of the building to other workers who stomped the flames out on his body, Monroe County Sheriff Deputy Randy Jacobs said. \nSurprisingly, he was alive and conscious, Jacobs said.\nEury's friends are already gearing up to help him in his long recovery.\nEury's roommate Trevor Charles said he felt like he had to do something to help Eury, who is currently listed in stable but critical condition in Wishard's burn unit. \n"There was this feeling of helplessness," Charles said. "I thought if I could work on this, at least I could do something for him."\nCharles, 28, and Bob Johnson, a friend of Eury's, quickly decided a fitting way to help Eury financially was to hold a benefit concert for him featuring some of his favorite music.\n"Robert really likes music, and he really likes Lynyrd Skynyrd," Charles said. \nJoy Thomas, 36, a close friend, vividly remembers the night she first met Eury, whom she calls by his middle name, Byron. \n"He was singing karaoke when I met him. Byron has a shy side to him, but when he gets up there, he just comes out of his shell," Thomas said, adding that he has a deep appreciation for music. \n"He loves to play the guitar," Thomas said. \nAs well as playing the guitar, Eury writes his own lyrics and composes music in his free time.\nThough the event is still in its early stages, Charles is eager to find a few local bands who are interested in performing Eury's favorite music to assist in raising money to help cover his medical expenses. A Myspace.com group has been formed to help spread the word in the area, and the group's Web site mentions that money raised at the event will be placed in an escrow account until Eury needs it. \nRecovery for third-degree burns like Eury's often takes months and requires multiple plastic surgeries to repair the damage, the Johns Hopkins Burn Center Web site said.\nEury's family, which includes his parents and two brothers, came up from Salisbury, N.C., after Eury's accident. Thomas, who spoke to the Indiana Daily Student via phone while driving to Indianapolis to see Eury and his family, recalled the parts of Eury's personality that mean the most to her.\n"He just has a great sense of humor," Thomas said. "When we lived together, I laughed at something every day. He's just a super guy."\nMore than funny, Eury was caring, Thomas said.\n"I know it's the old cliché, that he'd give you the shirt off his back, but it's true — he would. He's just a super guy."\nCharles said hearing about the accident Saturday was shocking, as Eury had just started moving up in his job as an electrician, managing other workers as well as being given more duties. \n"He was excited about it," Charles said. "He said there was a lot of pressure."\nThomas spoke positively about his recovery. \n"He's starting to respond a little to voices, and he's started to move his arms," she said. "When we're talking to him, he moves, so that's good."\nScott Shelton, 35, of Anderson, and Steve Abbott, 27, of Otterbein were also injured in the blast. Abbott is currently listed in stable but critical condition at Wishard with Eury, and Shelton remains in critical condition at Riley Hospital for Children, where he was transferred Tuesday.\nThe Monroe County Sheriff's Department is considering the incident a job site accident, and the Van Buren Township Fire Department and Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Division are investigating the accident. A complaint officer at IOSHA declined comment.\nElectromation, Inc. of Muncie, where the men worked, did not return a phone call seeking comments. Workers on-site also declined to comment.\nTo learn more about how to participate in the planning for the Robert Byron Eury benefit concert visit http://groups.myspace.com/httprobert39sfriendsgroupsmyspacecom.