Man Suffers Serious Injuries in Grill Fire

A man was badly burned when lighter fluid spilled onto his lit barbecue, engulfing him in flames that a neighbor doused with a garden hose, a Fire Department spokesman said.

The 41-year-old man was cooking on a charcoal-briquet grill when he propped open its metal lid, inadvertently touching a nearby bottle of lighter fluid, said Bob Collis of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The hot lid soon melted through the plastic bottle, sending a cascade of the combustible liquid onto the barbecue.

“All the contents just poured onto the fire and flashed,” Collis said. “It set him on fire, pretty much.”

A neighbor watering the lawn next door saw the blaze and rushed over to put it out. The accident happened at 8 p.m. in the 11200 block of Oxnard Street.

The victim suffered third-degree burns over 50% of his body, including his torso, hands and feet. He was taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital in critical condition, Collis said.