# I cooked myself... [Qview]



## buck futta (May 23, 2010)

I had a bad accident with my smoker this last Wednesday.

What happened was the charcoal went out after just lighting, which is fairly common with the way the firebox on my smoker is setup. We have often resolved this by spraying a little more fluid inside and re-lighting without issue. This time, for some reason(I’m thinking had to be the cheap-o Hy-Vee brand Charcoal Lighter Fluid) it instantly vaporized and shot out a four foot wide six foot tall fireball. I know you’re thinking “you should be careful when re-lighting charcoal”, and I can tell you that we were. But I have never seen that much fire come from such a small amount of accelerant.

Anyways, aside from the second-degree burns on my arms I’m doing okay, I’m very lucky to not have burned my face. I also live just a few blocks from Bergan Mercy and my friend immediately rushed me to the emergency room. They setup an appointment with the Burn Unit at Clarkson Med Center on Friday and I’ll say that was nearly as painful as the burn itself. The burn spe******t ripped all the blisters off and scrubbed it thoroughly and I get to clean it myself a few times a day until my next appointment.

All in all, I guess it’s a life lesson better learned than experienced. I know I’m not doing that again. I hope no one here ever has to go through what I am.

These pictures serve as an example to use extreme caution when cooking with charcoal. Sorry in advance if you are easily grossed out or offended in any way. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			







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*Edit - Added a spoiler window, so dramatic! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	






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## rickw (May 23, 2010)

Holy chit man, glad you're going to be OK. I NEVER use lighter fluid and never will. Nice to hear you're not ever going to try that chit again, be careful bud.


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## jak757 (May 23, 2010)

WOW....you are lucky -- which I know may be hard to think given those burns and the pain you must have been in.  We hear about these things all the time.  Sorry that it happened to you.

Here's to a speedy recovery, and hopes you get back to smokin soon.


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## beer-b-q (May 23, 2010)

If you want a safe way to start charcoal get a propane torch used to burn weeds and it works great...  Glad you are okay...


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## pineywoods (May 23, 2010)

Da..... it man I feel for you I know those burns hurt and the treatment is worse. Glad to read it was not worse although it was bad enough. Hope you recover quickly and with no complications. Never use lighter fluid get a chimney or a weed burner. 
Thanks for sharing your story hopefully it will save someone from doing the same thing.


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## tom37 (May 23, 2010)

Holy Cow!!!

Thats a bad bad deal. I hope all comes out well with the healing process. Like you said, luck was on your side with not burning your face. 

I had a buddy that had an experience near yours, just not quite as bad. 
He for what ever reason put match-lite charcoal in the chimney and went to light it. Well the lighter was out so he went in the house in search of another lighter. When he returned after being distracted for about 15 minutes he held the lighter to the vent holes to start the newspaper. Then a jet engine flame the size of the chimney erupted near 6 feet high. 
Thank goodness none of them were hurt. 

I wonder if your deal was similar in a sort of way. Maybe when the fire went out there was enough lighter fluid to cause a gas cloud in the fire box. And the new stream upset the coals enough to light up. 

Thinking about my drum being as air tight as it is, its no wonder we don't hear about back draft fires. 

This could sound bad but I think I have heard that beer promotes the healing of burns. LOL its probably not so much the beer itself but more whats in the beer that helps. Its a good excuse tho.


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## buck futta (May 23, 2010)

Thanks for the support, it really is appreciated. I think the worst part is waking up in the morning, by then the painkillers have worn off and the burn cream is drying up and needs to be re-applied. Excruciating pain is the only way I can describe it.

  I just hope that by early June I can be somewhat back to normal. It is summer time, and I have singlehandedly prevented myself from swimming and many other outdoor activities. 

That's an interesting theory Tom37, I can't say much for the healing factor yet but I can attest for the slight painkilling effect of delicious beer(in moderation of coarse). Once again thanks for the support everyone! I hope to be back on the grill soon!


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## treegje (May 23, 2010)

I feel for you, it could have been worse
and a fast recovery wished


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## hookup (May 23, 2010)

Ouch - that just looks painful.

Had my beer googgles on and blew up a Weber once using denatured alcohol when we ran out of lighter fluid, but luckily no one was hurt.


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## insight (May 23, 2010)

I hope they gave you Silvadene cream or equivalent. Hang in their, brother!


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## lugnutz (May 23, 2010)

Wishing you the fastes recovery! BTW beer and moderation should not be allowed in the same sentence!


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## bmudd14474 (May 23, 2010)

Glad to hear it wasnt worse. I hope you have a fast recovery man.


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## scarbelly (May 23, 2010)

That is awful man - sorry to hear about your misfortune but glad to hear it was not more serious - Lighter fluid is deadly - Good luck and heal quickly


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## Bearcarver (May 23, 2010)

Aye-Yaye-Yaye. That doesn't look like much fun!!!

I used to squirt lighter fluid, until I got my starter chimney.

Thanks for showing this as a reminder to us all what can happen in less than a second. So glad you're alright---physically anyway.


Bearcarver


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## jirodriguez (May 23, 2010)

Ouch! I feel for you, I have had 2nd & 3rd degree burns twice in my life and they really do hurt like hell.

Get yourself a chimney starter. Put two pieces of newspaper in bottom, fill top with charcoal, and light paper. Coals ready to dump into firebox in 15 min. No lighter fluid needed, cheaper, safer, and doesn't make you meat taste like lighter fluid.

I haven't bought lighter fluid in 20 years!


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## mballi3011 (May 23, 2010)

HOLY POOP There man you did it well didn't you. I know that they hurt worst then it looks and it don't look good. Now maybe you should teach everyone here to be careful with re-lighting or lighting charcoal with fluid. Next time don't buy a chimney or like most are saying here a torch or weed burner (big Torch) and light them things with them and you will be feet away.


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## brokenwing (May 23, 2010)

Wow you tank care of yourself, my thoughts are with you.  5 years ago I got hurt pretty bad when a oil furnace blew up in my face.  I can only imagine what your going through.  My thoughts are with you.


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## buck futta (May 23, 2010)

Yup, a huge 400 gram jar of the stuff. I'm supposed to clean it and re-apply it at least twice a day. Which I'm doing at least every six hours.

Crappy thing is we have a chimney and I foresee that we will be using it much more from now on.


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## rdknb (May 23, 2010)

wow, well at least your taking it the right way, I hope you heal fast


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## bill in mn (May 23, 2010)

Wow a wish for a speedy recovery,ouch. Burns are the worst .Bill


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## meateater (May 23, 2010)

Dang, I'm glad your ok. I quit using fluid and use the chimney. This should be a sticky. Mods maybe you can make a safety section.


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## jirodriguez (May 23, 2010)

.... damn that 20/20 hindsite!


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## chemicalguy (May 23, 2010)

I use a chimney and eletric together.


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## kaiser (May 24, 2010)

ouch ouch ouch!

I did something really stupid last year and wound up with my arm and head briefly in a fireball.  Luckily I got out of it with only a little bit of singed hair and some 1st degree burns - but it was my wakeup call about how quickly things can go from fine to "oh crap".

Wishing you a speedy recovery!


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## rgacat (May 24, 2010)

Here's hoping you a speedy recovery and thanks for the costly reminder to all of us that we are playing with fire that can and will bite us bad if we let our guard down for one second. Gook luck my smoking brother.


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## TulsaJeff (May 24, 2010)

I have deleted the comments that were not well restrained.. most of us were not thinking anything other than.. "OUCH, I bet that hurts. Poor guy!! I hope he gets better quick."

I hope you get better quick and have plenty of pain meds at your beckoning call.


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## harryho (May 24, 2010)

OUCH!!

I never really liked lighter fluids and suggest that those here who use charcoal look into a chimney starter instead.......one of the best tools you can invest on.

I hope you heal up really quick.......burns suck!


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## tom37 (May 24, 2010)

Thank You Jeff. 

Ya know we have all had misfortunes whether it be we did something to cause the bad moment or if it was just a freak deal. No matter what the cause we really don't need to hear the less then restrained comments. If I was in Futta's shoes I would already be pretty down on myself for letting it happen. 

Just my two cents.


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## rgacat (May 24, 2010)

Thanks Jeff
I know I would of been having a strong talk with myself as my wife was kicking my butt all the way home from the vet.


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## tom37 (May 24, 2010)

Not to hi-jack, but the last post made me laugh. 

A few years ago my cooking partner was chopping slicing and dicing on the sat of the contest and wa-laaaaaa he squeals like a little pig. Cut his thumb but good. We really did try to get him into the local vet, no joke it was 40 minutes till the first turn in. 

Bad deal was the vet was on vacation so my bud left us on our own for 3 turn-ins while he was off for a 30 mile drive to get a few stitches, 12 I think it was.

He has to pay the price worse then if he was here lol, every smoke his daughter brings a plastic knife and the first aid kit. Huh, a 13 year old can sure rub it in.


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## dmccurry (May 24, 2010)

Sucks that that happened.  We were just sprayin some on the coals and it didnt ignite.  buck lit a stick and got it about 4 inches away from the coals and then BOOM! 4'x6' fireball shot out and before i could even blink buck was 15 feet away jumpin around.  Lemme tell ya, worst trip to the er i have had to make.  the smell of burnt hair was pretty intense.  Well i hope for a quick recovery! and on a lighter note: personally I prefer mine extra crispy but med-rare works too. nice qview.


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## lugnutz (May 24, 2010)

Buck Futta said:


> I had a bad accident with my smoker this last Wednesday.
> 
> What happened was the charcoal went out after just lighting, which is fairly common with the way the firebox on my smoker is setup. We have often resolved this by spraying a little more fluid inside and re-lighting without issue. This time, for some reason(I’m thinking had to be the cheap-o Hy-Vee brand Charcoal Lighter Fluid) it instantly vaporized and shot out a four foot wide six foot tall fireball. I know you’re thinking “you should be careful when re-lighting charcoal”, and I can tell you that we were. But I have never seen that much fire come from such a small amount of accelerant.


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## cowgirl (May 24, 2010)

Dang!  Hope you are doing ok!!  Looks so painful!


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## buck futta (May 25, 2010)

Thanks everyone your thoughts and blessings are appreciated. The burns are feeling a bit better today; they itch like crazy but little less burning sensation. They are healing and that I am grateful for. I have a follow up appointment with the Burn Unit tomorrow; I hope they have good news when they see the healing progression. I returned to work on Sunday, it was tough staying awake since I work a desk job in IT due to the pain medication. It gives my mind something else to concentrate on besides the pain though.

To clarify, the fire in the smoker had gone out(or looked like it had). I stoked the charcoal to see if there were any coals going yet, but Dmccurry had just lit them and they were out. I just bought a fresh can of cheap-o lighter fluid from the grocery since we used the last of the Kingsford trying to start the fire. Dmccurry sprayed some on the charcoal; I lit the end of a hickory stick and went in for the “kill”, then WHOOOSH! Fire ball shot out, Dmccurry took me to the ER, and much pain ensued. And no pork was smoked. =(


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## figjam (May 25, 2010)

Hope you get better quickly.


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## pineywoods (May 25, 2010)

Glad to hear your healing i know its a slow process and I hope you get good news at your Dr's appointment. Again I would like to thank you for posting this thread I'm sure it wasn't easy to do but you may just save someone from doing the same thing.


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## old school (May 25, 2010)

Absolutely UNREAL!   It's great of you to post to remind people what can happen.  For me, burns are the worst.  Thoughts for you on a VERY fast recovery.


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## bob1961 (May 25, 2010)

wow dude i know that has to sting, wishing you a speedy and full recovery....when i was bout 13 i grabbed a light bulb with all of my finger tips ONCE....as wide as my fingers were and from tip to the first knuckle my fingers looked like a gecko's fingers with blisters 1/2" thick....hurt like all hell and i went through a whole tray of ice cubes....holding one with all my finger and thumb tips and as soon as it melted i had to grab another to keep the pain away...........bob

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## buck futta (Jun 4, 2010)

Doing much better everyone, I took the bandages off yesterday. A little scabbing on my ring finger, which was one of the more nasty parts of the burn. Made it through the healing process with no infection and didn’t even have to use all my painkillers.

I’ll be back on the pit tomorrow, smoking up a turkey, a fatty, and some brats for my little brother’s high school grad party. I even picked up some welding gloves today so I can reach into the fire pit if needed without my pink wussy arms burning… Gotta get some sun on my skin! The doc says there should be very little scarring, a little on my knuckle. After 14-years in and out of the food service business I have plenty of scars on these hands so I’m not too worried about my future of being a “Hand Model”.

Wish me luck and an explosion free day! I’ll show those BBQ Gods whose boss!


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## pineywoods (Jun 4, 2010)

Thats great news glad that all has gone well with the healing process. I hope you have a great smoke!!


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## rdknb (Jun 4, 2010)

Glad you are doing better, heal well


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## meateater (Jun 4, 2010)

Good to see ya back on the horse and made it through the backdraft.


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## bayouchilehead (Jun 4, 2010)

Glad to hear you are doing better and the recovery is giong well. Hope your smoke tomorrow is awesome!!


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## caveman (Jun 5, 2010)

Buck Futta said:


> Doing much better everyone, I took the bandages off yesterday. A little scabbing on my ring finger, which was one of the more nasty parts of the burn. Made it through the healing process with no infection and didn’t even have to use all my painkillers.
> 
> I’ll be back on the pit tomorrow, smoking up a turkey, a fatty, and some brats for my little brother’s high school grad party. I even picked up some welding gloves today so I can reach into the fire pit if needed without my pink wussy arms burning… Gotta get some sun on my skin! The doc says there should be very little scarring, a little on my knuckle. After 14-years in and out of the food service business I have plenty of scars on these hands so I’m not too worried about my future of being a “Hand Model”.
> 
> Wish me luck and an explosion free day! I’ll show those BBQ Gods whose boss!


First of all, I am glad to hear that you are doing much better & that your spirits are high.  Now for some semi-tough love.  Do yourself a favor man & get a chimney starter & LOSE that lighter fluid.  You don't wanna taste that on your fine smokes anyway.  Be careful & really, Good Luck!!!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 5, 2010)

Boy, that was a quick bounce-back!!  Glad to hear that!

I also agree with Cavey. I used lighter fluid for many years, used to squirt it into partially lit coals all the time. Then I bought a chimney starter----Works Great!------Gave my left over lighter fluid away.

I learned in cabinet making, chainsaw carving, driving, and many other places, every now and then we need a close call, a wake-up call, to keep us from a serious or fatal happening. You just had one, and if others are wise, they will borrow your wake-up call as one of their own.

I know, I know--------"Yes Mother Bear, we hear you".
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bearcarver


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## buck futta (Jun 6, 2010)

Man it was hot here in Omaha yesterday! Great day for a graduation party I must say, just wish it hadn’t rained all night long it was so thick! I think it was 88F, 80% humidity and a heat index of 96F or something! O.o

You’re right Bearcarver, I need to get a chimney or two. I was nice and careful and lit the charcoal right the first time, works so much better that way!

My dad smoked a brisket in his GOSM that turned out pretty good. For once I was feeling pretty proud with so many of my folk’s friends complimenting my turkey. I can’t count how many times I heard someone walk up to my mother or father saying “Wow, that’s some great turkey! Was the recipe difficult?” Then point at me, “talk to the guy with the burnt arms, he made it” they’d say. I think there were about 75 people there throughout the day. I did a 15 pound Turkey, 48 Brats from the local butcher (jalapeno cheese, deluxe apple, chorizo and Hawaiian sausages) and 10 pounds of the butcher’s famous baked beans. Needless to say I brought 4 brats and a handful of turkey home before the vulchers could devour everything! And that was with all sorts of other food to choose from, I may not be a chef like my old man nor half the cook my mom is… I guess still waters run deep you could say.

I’ll try and get some pictures up in the poultry section, though I didn’t get enough for a full on qview. But the brine and injection I whipped up was great though… Maybe I’ll post the recipes!


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## solaryellow (Jun 6, 2010)

I am heading out to the garage now to give my charcoal chimney starter a hug. I remember my old lighter fluid days. Glad none of them were that rough.


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## bob1961 (Jun 7, 2010)

glad to hear you doing great
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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