Toddler Seriously Burned When Flammable Liquid Poured on Campfire
The State Fire Marshal’s Office says a 1½ year-old Calais boy was seriously burned Wednesday when a flammable liquid was poured on a campfire.
Wyatt Chandler is being treated for burns to 60% of his body at Mass General in Boston.
Fire Investigators say the boy was sitting with his mother, Courtnie Chandler, near the campfire in the backyard of their home at 2 Pleasant St.
Police said the family was planning on cooking hot dogs & s’mores, and to intensify the fire, the boy’s father, Joshua Barnard, poured a flammable liquid from a plastic bottle onto the fire.
The flame then traveled up the stream to the bottle and ignited it. Barnard dropped the container and its contents spilled on his son.
The boy was first Lifeflighted to Bangor and then flown to Boston.
Fire Marshals advise never to throw a flammable liquid on a fire as the liquid or its vapors can explode.