Liquid-Burning Fire Pits Implicated In Two Deaths, Several Injuries

Liquid-burning portable firepits sounds like a good idea on paper, but when it comes to the actual implementation, they seem to be injuring and even killing people who purchased them. Americans are thus being urged not to buy them in light of two recent deaths and several injuries caused by the portable firepits.

The products are sold as tabletop firepits, firepots, miniature fireplaces, or portable fires for indoor use. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) “these firepits are extremely dangerous and have been associated with two deaths and at least 60 injuries since 2019,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday in issuing a consumer alert. “Consumers should immediately stop using and dispose of these products. Sellers should stop selling these products,” the agency stated.

The CPSC’s warning came after the June deaths of an elderly couple in Dover, New Hampshire. They and their family were seated around a tabletop firepit when they were engulfed in flames. According to their daughter, “All of a sudden, these flames shot out and like a blow torch, is all I describe it as. That totally took over both my parents’ bodies.”

The couple died three days apart from third-degree burns over the majority of their bodies.

A Hanover, Massachusetts victim is also speaking out about the dangers of the fire pits. She was given a tabletop firepit as a gift in the summer. Just after setting it up, it erupted into flames and set her on fire. The victim jumped in her pool in her backyard to put out the flames. She was later hospitalized, unable to move with second- and third-degree burns all over her body. “I was [in the hospital] for a total of four days being treated by the burn unit. With daily dressing changes and soaks and I didn’t get out of bed for four days. I couldn’t walk,” she said. “It was just, it was horrible.”

The CPSC recently issued a warning concerning FLIKRFIRE Tabletop Fireplaces and announced the recall of Colsen-branded firepits after a series of shocking incidents left 19 people with serious burn injuries, with some requiring surgery and others permanently disfigured.

According to the CPSC, there are two main problems with tabletop firepits. First, the firepits use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or some other liquid fuel into an open container. You then ignite the pooled liquid in the same location in which it was poured. This violates voluntary safety requirements. The alcohol can burn with flame temperatures over 1600℉. Flames can cause third-degree burns in less than 1 second. Igniting a pool of alcohol or other liquid fuel in a firepit’s open container creates an uncontrollable pool fire, which can produce even hotter flames that can spread beyond the firepit, the CPSC said.

Flame jetting is the second hazard. It can occur when refilling alcohol firepits while a flame is present. A small flame in the firepit can be almost invisible and can ignite alcohol or other liquid fuel as it is poured, causing an explosion that propels flames and burning liquid onto bystanders.

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

If you’ve sustained burn injuries due to a firepit you purchased at Walmart or on Amazon, call the Florida personal injury lawyers at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

cbsnews.com/news/firepit-tabletop-firepits-deaths-injuries-product-recalls/