Federal regulators are recalling 2 million bottles and jugs of gel fuel used in firepots because they can ignite unexpectedly, causing severe burns that in some cases have led to deaths.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says 34 people have been hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns, and two have died, after gel fuel exploded unexpectedly. The fuel is often used in decorative pots or candles that burn without wicks.
Regulators say it is sometimes difficult to see if the gel inside a pot is still burning. Consumers who add fuel to a still-burning pot or to one that is still hot can be splattered with flames. The gel is difficult to extinguish, and someone trying to put out the fire can get the gel smeared on them and be burned to
Lakeview resident Jeff Sipple was seriously burned by gel fuel at his friend's housewarming party in late June. Sipple said he remembers seeing a fireball fly toward him as his friend was pouring gel fuel into a decorative table that was designed to hold a flame in the middle.
The 31-year-old's face and arm were severely burned. He spent two days in intensive care and four days in the burn center at Loyola University Medical Center.
The safety commission's head, Inez Tenenbaum, said Thursday the agency wants to make consumers aware of the recall with the approaching Labor Day weekend. She urged people to stop using the pourable gel fuel and to contact the manufacturer or distributor for a refund.
"It's a dangerous product that we want to warn consumers to stop using," she said. "Stop, drop and roll or trying to smother it (the flames) does not work."
The companies recalling gel fuel are: Bird Brain Inc. of Ypsilanti, Mich.; Bond Manufacturing of Antioch, Calif.; Sunjel Company of Milwaukee; Fuel Barons Inc. of Lake Tahoe, Nev.; Lamplight Farms Inc, of Menomonee Falls, Wis.; Luminosities Inc. of St. Paul, Minn.; Marshall Group of Elkhart, Ind.; Pacific Decor Ltd. of Woodinville, Wash.; Real Flame of Racine, Wis.; Smart Solar USA of Oldsmar, Fla.
The gel is packaged in one-quart plastic bottles and one-gallon plastic jugs and sold in scented and non-scented formulas. They have been sold since 2008 for between $5 and $20. Consumers should contact the company that made the product for a refund.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
