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A teenaged girl in the United States has been hospitalized after getting severe burns while attempting to replicate the TikTok “fire challenge.”
In the “fire challenge,” a person draws a shape using a flammable liquid on a mirror and then lights it on fire.
Destini Crane, 13 years old of Portland, Oregon apparently failed to copy the said challenge and had third-degree burns on her neck and right arm. She has been in a local hospital’s intensive care unit for two weeks, her family told ABC News yesterday, May 30.
“I was in the living room talking with my mom, and I heard her scream my name. So I went and opened the bathroom door and everything was on fire. Destini was on fire. Things in the bathroom were on fire,” Crane’s mother, Kimberly, recalled during the interview.
Crane has been unable to tell her family about what happened to her, but they believe she was trying to copy a viral “fire challenge” on the video-sharing app TikTok.
They believe that she brought a candle, lighter and bottle of rubbing alcohol in her home’s bathroom to replicate the challenge but the materials she brought with her exploded instead. The mother added that when they retrieved Crane’s phone, TikTok was still recording video.
The teen went through three skin-grafting surgeries since the accident and her family is hoping that she will be moved to a burn unit soon for further medical care. She will have limited mobility because of her burns and will also need to undergo physical therapy.
“I know that when she wakes up and fully understands, she’s probably going to freak out. But honestly, I think that she’s strong enough to get through it,” her mother said in the report.
The family also reminded others to keep a close eye on children’s social media activities, stressing that some things “slip through” online parental controls. Dana Cruz/JB
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