A teenage boy applied on his chest a nail polish remover and set himself on fire in what was seen by local authorities as an attempt to complete the latest game dare over the Internet dubbed as “fire challenge.”
Gathered reports said the victim, 16, suffered serious but not life-threatening, first- and second-degree burns on the neck, hips and face. He was brought to the Western Medical center in Santa Ana, after the fire crews rescued him around 2:20 p.m. Friday at the 900 block of South Standard Avenue.
According to investigators, the “fire challenge” spread through YouTube and social media sites. Participants put flammable liquids on their bodies and set themselves on fire, before filming the horrendous act.
Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority explained to the Orange County Register that applying nail-polish remover is like putting gasoline on yourself, because the liquid is regarded as “alcohol-based fuel.”
It turns out incurring burns is just one side of the fire challenge story, because these heated gases, when inhaled, can also destroy tissues in their lungs which have been proven deadly in the past, said Kurtz.
While others have already reported of similar incidences, Kurtz considered the recent incident a first in Orange County when it comes to the so-called fire challenge attempting to put oneself on fire.
“This was a first for us,” Kurtz said. “Your setting your skin on fire for nothing else than someone dares you.”
“This is an entirely new twist,” Capt. Mike Summers also said.
Videos posted online, however, showed that many people have been performing these stunts before setting themselves on fire. Using the hashtag #FireChallenge on Facebook, one will find links to various fire challenge videos, with some having gone from minor to worst case scenarios.
“Our children are experimenting with death because we didn't give them enough to live for,” even said one post by a certain Facebook account owner named as Supreme-Understanding TheAuthor.
Summers said the fire authorities are conducting the “Fire FRIENDS Program” that includes education-based lessons on fire hazards. It wasn’t clear, however, if the teenage boy would be asked to take part in it.
The fire authorities again reminded that such fire challenge doesn’t only cause harm on oneself but on others as well once it spreads within the home.
