Man suffers excruciating burns in 'flame jetting' accident while using popular product
Warning: This article contains graphic images which some readers may find distressing.
A former Navy Seal was left hospitalised after suffering 'gruesome' injuries following an accident while using a popular outdoor product.
Anthony Trevino has launched a lawsuit after his body was severely burned while trying to refuel the portable backyard fire pit in September 2025.
It is alleged that the fire pit exploded, which caused 'gruesome third-degree burn injuries to his face, ears, neck, torso, arms, hands, and fingers', injuries which are likely to stay with him for the rest of his life.
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The court documents also claims that the explosion was so extreme that it melted a nearby light and also charred the balcony fencing, with it speculated that 'flame jetting' was the likely source of the explosion.
This can occur when flames explode out of the device and travel up a stream of the rubbing alcohol, which is meant to fuel the device.
In a statement, Trevino said: "I never imagined a product sold to me as 'safe and easy' would do this to me in my own home.
"My whole life, my job was to pull people out of danger. I can't undo what happened to me, but I can hold Amazon accountable to ensure they stop selling products that are so dangerous they can alter the course of someone's life."
Trevino purchased the fire pit in 2021 from Amazon's website and based on the algorithm on the website, also purchased isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), as a way of fuelling the device.
Four years on and he would be 'hospitalised for weeks' after the explosion, and he is now aiming to get compensation for the loss of earning and medical expenses that he has racked up during his time getting treatment, having suffered 'both physically and psychologically.'
The lawsuit was filed earlier this week on 5 August in San Diego Superior Court and accused both Amazon and Colsen Fire Pits of selling the device despite knowing it was a 'defective and hazardous product known to have caused numerous burn injuries.'
"He was hoping to use the fire pit to provide some nice ambience on his outdoor patio in his apartment in San Diego," the lawsuit alleged.
Trevino's lawyers have also made the point that ethanol burners 'were and are defective and extremely dangerous', something which they suggest the defendants were already aware of since they are outlawed in both Australia and Canada.
The product was later recalled in 2024 after being included in.a consumer alert by the federal government, with an email sent to customers suggesting that the Colsen-branded fire pits 'may not meet current mandatory or voluntary safety standards.'
However, no financial compensation was offered and the lawsuit suggests that there were no warnings about the severe injuries it could cause in the event of a 'flame jetting' incident, as Trevino would tragically later discover.
LADbible has contacted Amazon and Colsen Fire Pits for comment.
James Moorhouse