MIAMI -- A teenager who remains in intensive care after being set on fire breathed on his own for the first time Tuesday, the same day three other teens accused in the crime were charged as adults.

Dr. Nicholas Namias said Michael Brewer's breathing tube was taken out Tuesday for the first time since Brewer was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire on Oct. 12. He suffered burns over 65 percent of his body.

Doctors said the fact that Michael Brewer, 15, is breathing on his own is an important milestone in his recovery but by no means is he out of danger. In fact, now could be the most painful time of the healing process.

"Once you remove the breathing tube, you really have to lighten up on the sedation because now he has to protect his airway on his own. The machine and the tube are no longer doing it for him," Namias said.

Doctors said Brewer might soon be able to communicate freely and comprehend the outpouring of support he has gotten from the community.

Brewer will not be released from the hospital for at least two months, and that would be the best-case scenario, doctors said. His grafts of cadaver skin are healing well so far, but Namias said Brewer would need additional grafts from his own skin, and his ultimate appearance is unknown.

“People vary in how much they scar. Some people end up with minimally perceptible; some have problems with thick scarring and redness. Everyone varies, we will have to see with him but there will definitely be scars," Namias said.

3 Teens Charged As Adults With Attempted Murder

Three teenagers accused of setting Brewer on fire last month have been charged as adults with attempted murder and ordered held without bond.

Prosecutors said Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, now 16, all face charges of second-degree attempted murder, a first-degree felony. The three teens appeared in court Tuesday and were denied bond.

"Based upon the horrific allegations in these defendants dousing the alleged child victim in this case with a flammable liquid and turning the child victim into a human torch, for the safety of our community and other children in the community, this court orders that you will be held no bond until further court order," said Judge Lee Jay Seidman.

Attorney Gordon Weeks represents Bent.

"To any commentary about characterization of Michael Brewer as a human torch, that was a cartoonish characterization. It diminishes the severity of the injuries," Weeks said.

Five teens originally were arrested in connection with the attack. Two were released from juvenile detention Monday evening without being charged.

Bent, Jarvis and Mendez are being kept in a special area of the jail because of their ages. If convicted, the three teens could face 25 years to life in prison.