"We were making s'mores and what happened to me is called fire jetting," Poggi explained. "It's when an alcohol-fueled pit basically explodes."
A cement fire pit needed to be refilled with rubbing alcohol, but what no one at the table realized was that a small flame inside was still burning.
"Because it was so quick I closed my eyes," Poggi said. "I wasn't aware I was on fire. I though I had just been burned by the rubbing alcohol."
Poggi recalls the feeling of being struck by lightning, the heat so hot it initially felt cold against her skin and face.
"I was pushed into the pool and at that point we knew I was on fire," Poggi said. "They had the ambulance come."
Her cousin Alaina Arbiso is the one who pulled Poggi into a nearby pool to extinguish the flames.
"Within like a millisecond, you don't even see it coming, you have no time to react. It just happened," Arbiso said.
Arbiso not only got her cousin into the water, she also used a hose to douse the flames erupting on the table. Another family member was also hit by the flammable liquid, but Poggi was the most seriously hurt.
"Even when I got to the ER I just said I got hit by fire, and they asked me, 'Was it rubbing alcohol?' Because it's so common for people to be burned that way," Poggi said.
Also waiting in the emergency room was her friend and trauma nurse Alexandra Welsh.
"I work at a trauma center, so I see a lot of traumatic injuries come in, but it is so different when it is someone who you think of as a little sister," Welsh said.
Welsh had come to know Poggi through her nail art business. VivaciousVarnish on Instagram is how many followers know her. Since the accident, she has posted videos about the experience, dancing and showing that she's not letting it bring her down.
"I always remember it could have been worse," Poggi said. "I try to keep a good attitude."
She'll need that attitude for what's ahead.
In just a month, she starts college while also preparing for multiple procedures to aid her recovery.
Arbiso has launched a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses.
In the meantime, Poggi hopes her story serves as a warning.
"I really want people to know the danger of using an alcohol-fueled pit cause they are so common. We owed I think three of them," Poggi said.
Last year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued recalls for several brands of tabletop fire pits. However, many are still being sold secondhand or online. Experts recommend extreme caution or choosing safer alternatives.