As families gather for indoor fun, games and community around the fireplace this January and February, it’s important to remember to do so with safety in mind.
A recent incident that drew out Anne Arundel County first responders to the scene showed what happens when indoor fire pits get out of control.
A 9-year-old child and adult were injured last month after using an indoor ignitable liquid flame kit designed for making s’mores in their Laurel home, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.
Units from the Anne Arundel County, Fort Meade and Howard County Fire Departments responded Dec. 30 to a three-story townhouse in Laurel, Maryland, after the report of a fire in the living room.
Firefighters quickly contained and extinguished the flame so that it didn’t spread past the living room. Anne Arundel County medics attended to the two occupants who had both sustained burns as a result of the fire.
The 9-year-old was transported to Johns Hopkins Pediatric Facility with life-threatening injuries. The adult was treated at the scene.
The fire was determined to be accidentally caused by an indoor ignitable liquid flame kit, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire & Explosives Investigation Unit.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning earlier in December urging people not to use or buy fire pits meant to burn pooled alcohol or other liquid fuel. These products are also marketed as “tabletop fire pits, fire pots, miniature fireplaces or portable fires for indoor use,” according to the alert.
Rubbing alcohol, ethanol or bioethanol and similar liquid fuels burn with flame temperatures more than 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit and can cause third-degree burns in less than one second. Igniting a pool of alcohol in a fire pit’s open container creates an “uncontrollable pool fire, which can suddenly produce larger, hotter flames that can spread beyond the fire pit product,” the alert reads.
Another hazard is “flame jetting,” which occurs when refilling liquid fuel if any flame is present, even a small flame. This flame can ignite the fuel as it’s poured, resulting in an “explosion that propels flames and burning liquid onto the consumer or bystanders.”
The CPSC encourages consumers to immediately stop using and dispose of these products and sellers to stop selling them, citing two deaths and at least 60 injuries associated with indoor fire pits since 2019.
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