How could this happen? The AP reports
He was applying something flammable to his face, with his hands, and got too close to the candle.
aftershave maybe? or some kind of (alcohol-based) astringent?
Spontaneous human combustion?
Although, my money’s on freshly applied aftershave, then attempting to blow out the candle.
A classic example of something unexplained but not inexplicable.
He could have stuck his face and hands in the candle for some reason, or the burns might actually be chemical burns, or he might be the victim of an attack, or he might have passed out while leaning over a hot stove . . .
I’m also going to chime in with aftershave/astringent/flammable hygiene product, especially given that the burns were on his hands and face. Apply product to face with hands, get to close to candle (blow it out/light it/etc), suffer horrible flaming ball of hurt.
ETA: Lots of people don’t realize how dangerous everyday things can be. Just the other day I had to admonish my friend for applying his hairspray right next to a gas heater. :smack:
He had something flammable on him and the candle ignited it. You find cases like that in the news occasionally.
Freebasing?
I have a hard time imagining a common product that might easily cause third degree burns.
Even pure ethanol, liberally applied - you’re still going to end up with superficial burns. Hell, when I was a stupid kid we used to ignite ourselves for fun all the time, and then bat it out.
Maybe it was inexplicably mixed with a gel product to make a sort of home-brew napalm? Or he was somehow stupefied and made no attempt to put the flame out?
As for freebasing… has anybody freebased with ether in the last twenty years? I think the ubiquity of crack has sufficiently met the public’s freebase cocaine needs and wiped out Richard Pryor syndrome. Besides, there would be no mystery there, since it would be hard to hide the associated gear while your face was on fire.
It’s a fairly sketchy story. For all we know, he could have burned himself somewhere, and then gone home.
This very slightly more detailed story says that firefighters were there to respond to a smoke detector alarm in the unit, and entered when they heard moaning – so it seems fairly clear that the accident happened on the spot.