Firefighters warn about tabletop fire pits after explosion inside Massachusetts home
By AARON PARSEGHIAN
Firefighters in Avon, Massachusetts are warning residents about the dangers of tabletop fire pits after one exploded inside a home Thursday night, leaving a person with third-degree burns across their body.
Assistant Fire Chief Brad Cronin said the victim was using isopropyl alcohol to ignite the small device when it erupted in flames, burning at temperatures around 1,600 degrees. The fire pit used liquid fuel and a cotton wick; a combination Cronin described as inherently dangerous.
"These have been increasingly more popular from online retailers or mercantile stores," Cronin said. "Having an open flame device and a pouring of liquid into something that's already hot or maybe ignited just creates a very high fire risk. We'd caution anybody to not use this type of product."
Similar products have been linked to serious injuries in the past, including the deaths of a 93-year-old New Hampshire couple last summer after a fire pit explosion.
Warning, recall in 2024
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning late last year advising people not to buy or use liquid-fueled tabletop fire pits. In October 2024, Colsen recalled a fire pit device due to risk of serious burn injury.
"Fire pits that require consumers to pour isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or other liquid fuel into an open container or bowl and then ignite the pooled liquid in the same location it was poured violate the requirements in voluntary safety standard ASTM F3363-19. ASTM F3363-19 is designed to prevent pool fires in which flames burn along the surface of pooled or spilled flammable liquids, and flame jetting in which flames erupt from containers of liquid fuel," reads the 2024 warning from CPSC.
Cronin said their thoughts are with the injured resident and urged anyone considering a fire pit to purchase only models labeled as meeting safety standards and never use them indoors.
