A college student who tried to recreate a scene from the film The Mist burned his hands and legs when he sprayed mosquito repellent at a burning towel in an effort to create a homemade “blowtorch.”
According to the 20-year-old student, surnamed Sun (孫), the accident occurred when he attempted to recreate a scene for the movie on Tuesday at his home in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sindian District (新店).
He first set a towel on fire and then sprayed insect repellent toward the flame, he said.
However, the oil element in the liquid sprayer further that he had expected fueled the blaze and created a big and more intense fire, causing Sun to sustain burns.
Sun was rushed to the Cardinal Tien Hospital for emergency treatment, after his family reported the case to the local fire department at about 6pm the same day.
In the ambulance, Sun was unable to talk and identify himself because of the severe pain caused by his burn injuries, which he said were the results of his “stupidity.”
As Sun’s injuries proved to be second-degree burn wounds of moderate sizes — mostly on his hands and right thigh — he was no longer in a critical condition after receiving timely medical treatment.
Hung Ming-yang (洪明陽), head of the Sindian Unit of the fire department’s Fourth Battalion, said that since most movie scenes are created by using special effects, the public should not try to imitate them and so avoid causing major disasters.
“Pressurised containers such as pesticides and mosquito repellents contain flammable substances and should be kept away from fire,” Hung said.
“Sun was lucky that he did not cause a more destructive accident, or he may not only have been charged with offenses against public safety, but it could also have cost him his life or even the lives of other people,” he added.
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