Teen Fire Challenge Claims More Victims

An Internet fad that has kids dousing themselves with alcohol, lighting themselves on fire all while videotaping the production has claimed another victim.

An 11-year-old boy from the Miami area was hospitalized Tuesday after seeing the challenge on Facebook and trying to replicate it himself, CBS Local is reporting.

Similar reports are cropping up all over the country as teenagers try the stunt and fail. A 15-year-old boy from Kentucky, for example, suffered second-degree burns. The same thing happened in Texas where a 14-year-old wound up in the hospital.

The challenge is reaching such a viral proportion on sites like YouTube and Facebook, that news agencies around the globe are warning parents of the dangers.

In the Miami area, concern is running very high. Kendall Regional Medical Center’s burn center has taken in eight challenge victims in less than two days, CBS reported.

So far, there are no victims in the Tampa Bay area, but officials here trying to warn parents and kids before that changes.

“Burn injuries are so very very painful,” Wayne Cruse, a doctor at Tampa General Hospital’s burn unit told WFLA. “And it can get out of control. Your clothes can catch on fire.”