For many grey nomads, campfires are an important element of the Big Lap experience. They offer warmth, are fun to cook on and, of course, they provide a centrepiece to social gatherings.
However, if not monitored properly and extinguished responsibly, they have the potential to cause disaster … and not just through bushfires.
Earlier this year, two-year-old Andrew suffered burns to 75% of his feet when he stepped on a smouldering campfire that had been covered by sand in a failed attempt to extinguish it. The toddler from Brisbane required skin grafts and has been in and out of hospital ever since the accident at a campsite at Kenilworth in Queensland.
Experts say that campfires simply covered in sand or dirt as a way to extinguish them can still retain heat of up to 500 degrees for several hours.
As the weather cools down, travellers are being reminded of the responsibilities that come with the pleasure of having a campfire. As well as being monitored properly to ensure they don’t get out of control and potentially spark a bushfire, fires have to extinguished correctly … and that means being put out with water.
“We often find most children are burnt from campfires that are lit the previous night,” Queensland Children’s Medical Institute burns prevention researcher Belinda Wallis told the Sunshine Coast Daily. “Whether it’s their own fire or previous campers, parents don’t recognise the hazard. They think it is extinguished and they don’t understand the heat that is hidden under the sand.”
Community Safety Minister Jack Dempsey urged campers to put their fires out properly.
“I really do ask everybody to put your campfire out properly with water and leave that area as you discovered it because we certainly don’t want any more injuries to little boys like Andrew or any other young Queenslanders,” he told the Sunshine Coast Daily.
Sadly, Andrew is only one of about 40 children who receive severe burns each year from avoidable fires.
Have you seen campers using sand to attempt to extinguish campfires? Do you think campfires are an important part of the camping experience? Comment below.
Very sad about poor little Andrew and others like him who suffer burns from campfires not extinguished properly. Hopefully, this article will remind campers of the hazards. With common sense and a willingness to learn the ropes, campers can safely enjoy their camping experience, which includes the rewarding ambience of a campfire.
We’ve not seen fires being extinguished with sand, but we have had to use a considerable amount of our own water to douse a fire, quite close to dry grass, which had not been properly extinguished – and that was on the Nullarbor.