Severe Burn Injuries Caused by Bioethanol-Design Fireplaces—An Overview on Recreational Fire Threats

Abstract

Commercially available bioethanol-fueled fireplaces have become increasingly popular additions for interior home decoration in Europe and more recently in the United States. These fireplaces are advertised as smokeless, ecologically friendly, and do not require professional installation, formal gas lines, or venting. Although manufacturers and businesses promote their safety, recent presentations of injuries have alerted the authors to the relevant danger bioethanol fireplaces can pose for the incautious user. Are bioethanol fireplaces going to become the future threat in domestic burn accidents beside common barbeque burns? A Medline literature search on barbeque and domestic fireplace accidents was performed to compare and stratify the injury patterns reported and to identify a risk profile for contemporary bioethanol-fueled fireplaces. To exemplify, two representative clinical cases of severe burn accidents caused by bioethanol-fueled fireplaces, both treated in the burn unit of the authors, are being presented. Design fireplaces are being recognized as an increasing source of fuel and fire-related danger in the home. This risk may be underestimated by the uninformed customer, resulting in severe burn injuries. Because bioethanol-fueled fireplaces have become more commonplace, they may overtake barbecue-related injury as the most common domestic burn injury.