Updated September 3, 2024, after a campfire explosion near Hibbing, Minnesota. The growing popularity of backyard firepits and outdoor heaters has coincided with an alarming rise in burn injuries. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency room visits for firepit-related burn injuries have nearly tripled since 2008. Young children are especially vulnerable, accounting for 25 percent of these burn injuries.
A recent tragedy in French Township, Minnesota, highlights how dangerous it is to start a campfire with flammable liquids. Over Labor Day weekend, a campfire explosion took the life of 53-year-old Marvin Theisen and left seven others injured, including a 14-year-old girl who was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital with serious burns. Authorities reported that a flammable liquid was used to start the campfire.
In February, a 12-year-old boy died in a tragic campfire explosion at his home in West Point, Utah. And in January, a Northern Virginia pastor was severely burned after a firepit explosion in his backyard. Both these incidents involved the use of gas cans as an accelerant, highlighting the critical need for increased safety measures around portable containers that store flammable liquids.
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Gas Can Explosion Lawsuit Information
Red plastic portable gas cans are a common sight in American homes, with industry estimates suggesting that consumers buy about 20 million gas cans each year. From 1998 to 2012, data from the CPSC shows that gas can explosions during gasoline pouring resulted in 11 deaths and 1200 emergency room visits.
Victims of devastating gas can explosions have taken legal action, resulting in at least 80 explosion lawsuits filed against gas can manufacturers and retailers over the past two decades. Lawsuits allege that most portable gas cans have a dangerous design flaw: the lack of a flame arrester, a safety device that could help prevent devastating flashback explosions.
Fire safety advocates urge families with young children to be aware of the risks associated with gas cans and other flammable liquids because even with adult supervision, it can only take a few seconds for serious burns to happen.
Local fire departments expect a rise in emergency fire calls during the winter months as people start building campfires to stay warm outside. Fire safety officials advise using clean, dry wood and steering clear of combustible liquids. Additionally, fires should be set at least 25 feet away from any structures, contained within proper fire rings, and fire extinguishers should always be easily accessible.
About The Pritzker Hageman Burn Injury Legal Team
Pritzker Hageman is one of the few law firms in the country with experience representing burn survivors and their families in explosion lawsuits. Our burn injury legal team has won hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients including some of the biggest burn recoveries in American history. Pritzker Hageman supports the burn survivor community by partnering with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors and our attorneys have been active members of the American Burn Association.
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Legal Action after a Burn Injury
The Pritzker Hageman burn injury legal team, in partnership with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, has put together a handbook covering important topics related to legal action after a burn injury.
