By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

PORTLAND – A few days after his contest-winning sheep costume caught fire, a Lisbon man was lying in his hospital bed planning the costume he’ll make next year – when he recovers.

His mother won’t say what it’ll be. “It’s a surprise,” she said Wednesday.

Kenneth Daigle Jr., 28, was in terrible pain but good spirits, his mother said, his enthusiasm for Halloween undeterred by the burns he received and skin grafts he will need.

On Oct. 30, a few hours after Daigle’s costume won him the grand prize at Mixers pub in Sabattus for the fifth year in a row, it burst into flames when he brushed by a cigarette at a friend’s party.

The costume was made of about 1,800 cotton balls that Daigle glued to long johns. The fire left him with serious second- and third-degree burns over much of his body

Daigle is a cook at Little Joe’s Chuck Wagon on Sabattus Street in Lewiston, a bar and grill owned by his parents, June and Kenneth Daigle Sr. of Durham. He’s also a Lewiston-Auburn College student with aspirations to be a teacher. And he’s a big fan of Halloween.

“He challenges himself to outdo himself from the year before,” June Daigle said. Other costumes he’s made include Richard Simmons and a blue Smurf.

Every year Daigle comes up with a better costume, Mixers owner Randall Greenwood said, noting, “You wonder where he comes up with these ideas.”

For the sheep costume he used so much cotton “you couldn’t see an ounce of clothing,” his mother said. He painted his face black.

It wasn’t the cotton balls that caught fire, she said, but the heavy amounts of glue on the long johns. When Daigle was making the costume he tested the cotton to ensure it wasn’t flammable. During the night the cotton fell off, but the glue was still there. When he came near the cigarette, “there was a flash” and his arm was covered in flames.

Daigle ripped off his shirt. Instantly both legs caught fire, June Daigle said. His friends helped him rip off his clothes. They rushed him into a shower and sprayed him with cold water. “That was wonderful; it probably saved his life. It took some of the heat out,” his mother said. “They’re heroes. I can’t thank them enough. They saved his life.”

One friend wearing a Jesus costume took off his robe and wrapped Daigle in it. Wearing the Jesus robe, Daigle was put in a vehicle and sped to a Lewiston hospital.

Around 3 a.m. “we got the call every parent dreads,” June Daigle said. The doctors wanted them at Central Maine Medical Center immediately. They drove from Durham to Lewiston thinking their son was dying. When they learned he was being moved to Portland, and was not going to die, “I was so thankful,” she said. “My prayers were answered. Everything was uphill from there.”

But Daigle’s recovery will be long and painful.

On Wednesday, doctors and nurses made him get out of bed and move. “He’s in a lot of pain. He’s having a bad day,” his mother said.

Daigle will undergo surgery, with doctors removing skin from his back and attaching it to his upper legs. His chest and face escaped burns. His hands didn’t. He won’t be able to cook at Little Joe’s for a long time, which means he’ll be out of work. Daigle is single, but owns his own home, with a mortgage, his mother said.

To help Daigle pay his bills while recuperating, several benefit events are planned, June Daigle said.

On Nov. 12, a spaghetti supper will be held at Little Joe’s in Lewiston. The following weekend, a Nov. 19 dance will be held at the C&J Hall on Webster Street. For more information about either event, people may call Little Joe’s at 783-8361, or Daigle’s sister, Melissa Leighton, at 926-3810.