Burn Injury Resource Center
Even though barbecues are enclosed units and are used outside, the chance of suffering severe burns from careless use of them is high. The following story is prime evidence of that: According to the Naples Daily News in Florida, a 71-year-old woman was rushed to a Tampa hospital in early May with burns over almost 30 percent of her body after an outdoor grill caused a gas explosion at her home. She was very fortunate, however; by the next day she was recuperating at home.
An emergency call came in around 7 p.m. to the local fire department, and fire engines from the city of Naples Fire/Rescue Department reached the home less than seven minutes later. The responders found the patient seated and covered in wet towels.
A brief fire was caused by the gas explosion, but was out by the time responders arrived. They were able to cut off the gas supply to the grill. The woman was transported as a precaution by ambulance to the Tampa General Hospital Regional Burn Center, with first-degree burns reported on 22 percent of her body, and second-degree burns on five percent of her body, largely to her neck and her face.