Three New Yorkers were injured within days of each other, two critically, after a fuel gel sold at Bed Bath & Beyond exploded in their faces as they attempted to use it. Marketed as "the Safe Pourable Gel," FireGel is scented with citronella and meant to be used in fuel pots. But the fuel pots and the gel carry small warning labels that are "meant to be thrown away." The manufacturer of the fuel told the Times that "there is more than likely a learning curve for the marketplace that needs to take place." The mother of 14-year-old victim Michael Hubbard, said "Watching my son just go up in flames like a tree—it just devastates me. I can't get that image out of my mind."
Hubbard was helping his family set up for a party for his aunt's wedding, and was asked to light the fuel pot, and "when the gel did not seem to catch fire, the boy added more fuel when it "exploded into a fireball." Hubbard's condition is still "grave: his heart stopped overnight and he was revived, but his organs are failing." Several days later, 24-year-old Jon Mitzman was preparing to celebrate his birthday at his East Village apartment and thought his fuel pot had burned out. "So I went to pour more fuel in. All I heard was a bang." Mitzman said he was not hurt by the blast, but his best friend Nick Stone was covered in flaming jelly, and it took several minutes for his friends to extinguish the fire. He faces numerous surgeries and months of rehabilitation.
Bed Bath & Beyond told the Times that they had stopped selling the product nationwide on Friday, and the Consumer Protection Safety Commission was beginning to investigate the product, which is still "relatively new." The commission has received eight reports of explosions or burns since April 2010. Hubbard's relative said "There's no wick. That's the problem. You don't see that it's lit." His mother added "It's just like gasoline in a bottle."
