Teenagers injured while making napalm

NFPA Journal, Jul/Aug 1997 by Tremblay, Kenneth J

Two teenaged boys were burned as they tried to make homemade napalm using a recipe they copied from the Internet. The mixture ignited, and flames spread to kitchen cabinets in the singlefamily home. News acounts said that the boys, ages 13 and 14, received first- and second-degree burns.

The single-story home was of unprotected, wood-frame construction and measured 50 by 24 feet. It had smoke detectors but no sprinklers.

The boys used a double boiler to heat gasoline on top of an electric stove in the kitchen. Based on the recipe, they believed, incorrectly, that other steps in the procedure would neutralize the gasoline vapors, but the vapors were ignited by the hot stove burner.

Firefighters arrived four minutes after an 11:37 a.m. call to 911 and extinguished the blaze with a portable extinguisher. Property damage wasn't reported.

News accounts quoted the local police chief as saying it's a "sad indictment on society" that kids have ready access to recipes for homemade bombs.