Americans are being urged not to buy or use liquid-burning portable fire pits intended for tabletop and other uses after two people were killed and dozens injured.
Sold as tabletop fire pits, fire bowls, miniature fireplaces or portable fire pits for indoor use, “these fire pits are extremely dangerous and have been Two people were killed and at least 60 injured.” alarm. “Consumers should immediately stop using and dispose of these products. Sellers should stop selling these products,” the agency said.
This warning follows An elderly couple died in JuneHerm and Thelma Stolsonburg, in Dover, New Hampshire. Their daughter, Dee McEneaney, told CBS News in Boston that the family was sitting around a tabletop fire pit when both of them were engulfed in flames. “All of a sudden, these flames came out like a blowtorch, that’s how I describe it. It completely took over my parents’ bodies,” McEnany Tell WBZ-TV July.
McEnany’s 93-year-old parents, who had been married for 71 years, died three days apart within a week of each other from third-degree burns following the accident.
A resident of Hanover, Massachusetts, also spoke out about the potential dangers. Katelyn Little received a tabletop fire pit over the summer, but as soon as she set it up, it burst into flames, causing her to catch fire.
Little jumped into a backyard pool to put out the flames and was taken to the hospital with second- and third-degree burns all over his body and unable to move. “I was there in the burn unit for a total of four days. Dressings and soaks every day, and I didn’t get out of bed for four days. I couldn’t walk,” Little said. “It’s just, it’s terrible,” she Tell WBZ earlier this month.
Little noticed the popularity of fire pits while holiday shopping and chose to share what happened to her.
“When I search for Yankee exchange gifts under $30, it’s pretty much the No. 1 gift right now,” Little said. “A lot of different companies are making them.”
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued a warning and announced a recall for the FLIKRFIRE tabletop fireplace Colson Brand Fire Pit The shocking series of events left 19 people with burns, some requiring surgery and others permanently disfigured.
Fire pits require pouring isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or other liquid fuel into an open container or bowl and then igniting the pooled liquid in the same location where the liquid was poured, violating voluntary safety requirements.
Isopropyl alcohol, ethanol/bioethanol, and similar liquid fuels burn with flame temperatures in excess of 1,600°F, which can cause third-degree burns in less than a second. The agency says igniting a pool of alcohol or other liquid fuel in an open container in a fire pit can create an uncontrollable pool fire that can suddenly create larger, hotter flames that can spread beyond the fire pit product.
The second danger is the flamethrowing that can occur when refilling a fire pit burning alcohol or other liquids while there is a flame. Small flames in fire pits can be difficult to see and can ignite when alcohol or other liquid fuel is poured, causing an explosion that propels flames and burning liquid onto consumers or bystanders.
