Three teenagers were left with life-changing burns after trying to use bio-ethanol fuel to start a barbecue in west London.
An 18-year-old man remains critically ill in hospital with 50 per cent of his body covered in burns, including his face, torso, arms and legs. The other two men, aged 19, sustained burns to their arms and legs.
The group poured the highly flammable fuel onto the barbecue they were attempting to start in Isleworth over the weekend.
They held a lighter to the fuel, causing it to flash over, turning the barbecue into a huge fireball.
It is thought the fuel was intended for a real flame fire inside the house.
Mark Hazelton, community safety group manager for London Fire Brigade, said: “This unfortunate incident highlights how dangerous it is to use unsuitable flammable fuels that are not designed to be used on barbecues. You should only ever use approved barbecue fuel or fire lighters to help to get your barbecue going.
“If this warm weather continues, we’re really concerned that we could be seeing more and more of these incidents unless people take greater care with their barbecues.
“We wish the three lads well and hope they recover quickly from their injuries.”
The LFB are urging people to use approved barbecue fuel or fire-lighters and to never add bio-ethanol fuel to a burning fire.
In June 2012 a woman in Staffordshire died from serious burns caused by a bio-ethanol burner.
