Posted on 06/11/2011 8:52:12 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
They said it was like napalm: it exploded in a flash, stuck to skin and clothing, and refused to stop burning.
A 14-year-old Long Island boy is fighting for his life after he was slathered with blazing, jellylike citronella fuel on May 28, when his cousin tried to light a ceramic firepot to prepare for a backyard wedding reception, but the quart bottle of fuel he was pouring instead burst into flames.
In Manhattan, a 24-year-old man has been on and off a ventilator after an almost identical blaze nearly killed him and badly wounded his best friend on June 3 as they were relaxing on the friend’s terrace.
The two accidents, less than a week apart, involved the same product: a gel fuel for ceramic firepots, scented with citronella to ward off insects on hot summer nights, and purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond.
The fuel is marketed by the retailer as FireGel, “the Safe Pourable Gel.” But survivors and witnesses to the two blazes likened it to a Molotov cocktail without so much as a wick.
“It’s just like gasoline in a bottle,” said Nancy Reyer, a single mother whose only child, Michael Hubbard, has been clinging to life in a hospital in Stony Brook on Long Island for nearly two weeks. “Watching my son just go up in flames like a tree — it just devastates me. I can’t get that image out of my mind.”
Relatives of the victims, and one survivor of the two local blazes, said the products came with understated warnings that gave no sense of how dangerous they could be to operate safely, and called for a recall or a ban.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sterno was my first thought, too. Because alcohol seems to burn without much of a visible flame, you could never be sure it was lit unless you waved your hand over it and felt heat.
This one is odd, because evidently the substance wasn’t provided in a finite quantity in a little can, like Sterno, but you had essentially a jug of Sterno and could slop more of it on any time you wanted to. Not a good idea.
That’s the ticket... DDT! :-) LOL! :-)
***PS, NEVER pour volatile liquid fuel on a lit fire!****
True, but you should NEVER pour fuel such as kerosene or lamp oil on a smoldering fire. The oil vaporizes and when a flame does start it will flash just like you poured gssoline on it.
>but the quart bottle of fuel he was pouring instead burst into flames.
Not all by itself it didn’t. Pouring flammable liquids or gels into a burning or very hot container will get you in trouble
fast. Maybe some people need assistance handling energetic substances like in New Jersey where they won’t even let you pump your
own gasoline.
It’s not the lack of warnings on the stuff, it’s the user nearly every time.
It’s like pouring gasolene down a carb, not a good
idea as my boss learned when his whole arm went up
in flames.
DON’T DO IT!
Somebody call the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We must ban these.
Get your citronella oil here:
http://www.essentialoil.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=citronella
|
YOU giving out fire safety warnings ??? thanks fer the heads up...
Me too! Consumer-grade NAPALM that also keeps biting pests away? AWESOME.
Now if they would only add a hint of garlic...
(insert back story here)
While I sympathize with the victims, my guess is that this resulted from user error.
Hmmm I wonder how long before F-Troop tries to sell it to Mexican drug cartels as Poor Man’s Napalm, and blame it on American gun shops?
Ah...they’ll just yank the stuff off the shelves. :-) But I hear what you’re saying! :-)
Yep.... Stay Safe.
obviously you hate children, mejicans, and homo-bi-transgender people, and hope they all spontaneously combust like micheal jackson in a bad pepsi commercial...
“...are you implying ....”
Pretty much, yeah...implying hell, I’m saying it outright!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.