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Category: Emergency Incidents / Consumer Protection

Ethanol burners banned in WA after woman badly burnt

Tuesday, 20 Dec 2016 14:23:39 | David Weber

The 28-year-old woman suffered serious burns to her face and body. (Supplied: FESA)

The WA Government has banned portable decorative ethanol burners in the wake of a woman suffering serious burns in the backyard of a Perth home.

An immediate 60-day ban has been imposed pending further assessment by Consumer Protection and other agencies.

Commerce Minister Michael Mischin said a 28-year-old woman suffered serious burns to her face and upper body when an ethanol burner exploded in a Safety Bay backyard in October.

The woman, who has not been identified, spent several weeks in an induced coma and suffered burns to 18 per cent of her body.

She is still receiving hospital treatment.

Two people were also injured in Queensland in a similar incident more recently.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services District Officer Andrew Duckworth said the burners could cause major fires.

"They use a liquid fuel so if they were to be tipped over you've got the potential for a running fuel fire inside the house, which is obviously very dangerous," he said.

"It can be knocked over by children or by animals or that sort of thing.

"The other problem is the fuel it uses has a fairly low flashpoint, so it ignites at a low temperature.

"People are going to fill up the device thinking that it's out but actually when they go to put the liquid in, it ignites and flares up."

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Mr Mischin said 113 injuries had been reported throughout Australia since 2010, many of them serious.

"These are too much of a hazard to be allowed to continue to be used," he said.

"The interim 60-day ban can be extended.

"Ultimately it is a question for other jurisdictions as well as to what they do, and for the Commonwealth to extend that to a permanent ban if it sees fit."

The product has to be taken off WA shelves and deleted from online catalogues.

Those guilty of selling banned products face a $220,000 fine, with corporations facing a fine of more than a $1 million dollars.

AustraliaPlus


 

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