Bonfires at the beach are very common in Southern California. With the mild year round temperatures a fire pit seems like the perfect way to end the day. Friends, family and good conversation can be enjoyed while the last logs burn out. Usually, before everybody breaks camp, someone will throw dirt or sand on the fire to “put it out”. This may seem like the logical thing to do since a bucket of sand will normally squelch the remaining flames. Unfortunately this act is the cause of dozens of injuries every year due to bonfires.
Pouring sand into a lit fire pit can mask the visual danger of the fire but intensify the heat underneath. A fire that burns out on its own may be cool in an hour or so but a smoldering fire can remain dangerously hot for 24 hours or longer. The extreme heat builds up underneath the sand like a natural oven. The fire pits become extremely dangerous because unsuspecting people and especially children don’t know about their dangers.
A fire that was covered with sand at 10:00 p.m. could still be dangerously hot the next day at four in the afternoon. To the naked eye it is impossible to tell that there is a smoldering accident waiting to happen. All too often kids will venture into these open pits and receive serious burn injuries. Adults may receive minor burns and injuries but small children may be stuck unable to understand what is happening to them.
UCI Medical Center in Irvine sees 10-20 of these cases a year. The 2nd and 3rd degree burns that happen to children are horrific. Some kids have their toes or fingers melted together. The pain from the initial burns is only the beginning. Ongoing treatment and burn care is extremely painful. Some patients have to be heavily sedated or kept unconscious in order to be treated. Most, if not all, of these injuries can be prevented.
If you are going to be hanging out near a fire pit be sure to pour a bucket of water in the pit as soon as you get there. If you have a bonfire, make sure to put the fire out with water. You never know how long the embers will remain dangerous. It doesn’t matter if you are the last person to leave at midnight, never leave a fire pit until it is perfectly safe. Imagine that the next person to show up is a young, unsuspecting child. In some cases it will be.
