By JEFF OVERLEY and ELEEZA V. AGOPIAN
The Orange County Register

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Two Huntington Beach High School students were seriously burned Friday morning in a chemistry-class accident on the last day of school. Brian Cross, 17, and Tyler Haunreiter, 16, were burned by a flash of flames when an experiment using methyl alcohol caused an explosion about 7:30 a.m. during a college- prep chemistry class. Cross, a junior, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 38 percent of his body, including his face, upper arms, chest and neck. Haunreiter, a sophomore, suffered mostly second-degree burns to his head and face. The boys were being supervised during the experiment, and none of the other approximately 35 students in the class was injured, Principal David Linzey said. "Our prayers are with them for a speedy recovery," Linzey said. "It's an unfortunate accident." Neither of the boys was wearing goggles at the time of the accident, but no serious eye injuries were suffered, said Dr. A. Richard Grossman, medical director at the Grossman Burn Center in Santa Ana, where the boys are being treated. Cross was closest to the flames, with Haunreiter standing a step or two behind him, Grossman said. Cross has a slight corneal abrasion that should heal on its own, Grossman said. Both are expected to recover, he said. Linzey said he thinks all the proper precautions were taken in teacher Tascha Thayer's class but declined to discuss accident details. Thayer and district administrators did not return calls seeking comment. Fire Department spokeswoman Martha Werth said teachers and students will be interviewed as part of an investigation. The boys were demonstrating the experiment while other students watched when the explosion occurred, Werth said. No evacuation was necessary, but counselors were summoned to console students, she added. Cross was breathing with the help of a respirator and was sedated Friday afternoon. Grossman said doctors would continue to stabilize him over the weekend before operating Monday. A second surgery will likely be performed four to five days later, Grossman said. "When you're dealing with someone with a 40 percent burn we have to go one day at a time," he said. Haunreiter will likely need one surgery and could leave the hospital within a week, Grossman added. Monday's surgery will clear "devitalized" skin and cover Cross' burns with biological dressing and cadaver skin, according to Grossman. A skin graft - in this case using a person's own skin to replace another patch on the body - will likely be necessary for Cross.