Liquid-burning firepits behind 2 deaths, dozens of injuries

Americans are being urged not to buy or use liquid-burning portable firepits sold for tabletops and other uses following the deaths of two people and dozens of injuries. 

Sold as tabletop firepits, firepots, miniature fireplaces or portable fires for indoor use, “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 warning follows the June deaths of an elderly couple, Herm and Thelma Stolzenburg, in Dover, New Hampshire. Both were engulfed in flames from a tabletop firepit their family was seated around, Dee McEneaney, their daughter, relayed to CBS News in Boston. “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,” McEneaney told WBZ-TV in July.  

Married for 71 years, McEneaney’s 93-year-old parents died three days apart a week after the accident from third-degree burn injuries.

A Hanover, Massachusetts, is also speaking out about the potential dangers. Katelyn Little was gifted a tabletop firepit in the summer, and just after setting it up, it erupted into flames, setting her on fire. 

Little jumped in the pool in her backyard to put out the flames, and was then hospitalized, unable to move with second- and third-degree burns all over her body. “I was there 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,” Little said. “It was just, it was horrible,” she told WBZ earlier this month.

Little opted to share what happened to her while noticing the popularity of the firepits while shopping for the holidays. 

“When I search Yankee swap gifts under $30, it’s pretty much the No. 1 gift that comes up right now,” Little said. “A lot of different companies are making them.”

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

Fire pits that require pouring isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or other liquid fuel into an open container or bowl and then ignite the pooled liquid in the same location in which it was poured violate voluntary safety requirements.

Isopropyl alcohol, ethanol/bioethanol, and similar liquid fuels burn with flame temperatures over 1,600°F and can cause third-degree burns in less than one second. Igniting a pool of alcohol or other liquid fuel in a firepit’s open container creates an uncontrollable pool fire, which can suddenly produce larger, hotter flames that can spread beyond the firepit product, according to the agency.

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