NIAGARA COUNTY
2 burned using gasoline on campfires
Do not, under any circumstances, pour gasoline on a campfire!
Niagara County Fire Coordinator James C. Volkosh added the exclamation point to that declaration Wednesday after two people in Niagara County were burned seriously in recent days doing just that.
“Gasoline is an explosive force and should be nowhere near an open flame,” he said. “That explosive force is the reason it works so well in the pistons in your engine. Leave the gasoline for your car or your lawnmower.”
Sean P. Gray, 42, was injured at 7:15 p. m. Tuesday as he spilled gasoline on his legs while attempting to pour it on a campfire he was making for his family at his Youngstown-Lockport Road home in Ransomville, Niagara County sheriff’s deputies said.
Deputies said Gray’s trousers caught fire, and he immediately began rolling on the ground, but could not extinguish the flames before suffering severe burns.
Gray was taken to Erie County Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition Wednesday with second-degree burns on his legs and left wrist.
Saturday in Wheatfield, a 15- year-old boy spilled gasoline on his shorts while pouring it on a smoldering fire.
Jaime McClain of Ashkar Court suffered second-degree burns on 40 percent of his body, including his legs and arms, when the can ignited.
He was transferred from Women & Children’s Hospital to the Shriners Burn Treatment Center in Cincinnati, where he was listed in fair condition Wednesday.
Gasoline vapors, Volkosh said, normally are heavier than air and “hit the ground and then find an ignition source.”
He also warned victims against trying to run.
“Stop, drop to the ground and cover your face and start rolling away from the fire. One of the big things is to cover your face with your hands so you don’t burn your face and you don’t have any involvement with your airways,” Volkosh said.
Chief Deputy Steven Preisch said county regulations restrict campfires to a self-contained barrel or a pit area surrounded by rocks.
Fires also must be attended, with no more than four logs of dry wood, no larger than 18 inches long and 6 inches wide.
Volkosh also advises using kindling or newspaper to start a campfire.
“Certainly don’t use gasoline,” he said.
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