Man burned after using gasoline to kill weeds

Monday, Oct. 6, 2003 | 9:21 a.m.

A 28-year-old Las Vegas man was severely burned Sunday night after using gasoline to kill weeds at a relative's home, Las Vegas Fire Dept. spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

When firefighters responded to the Stone Canyon condominium complex in the 8000 block of West Charleston Boulevard about 6 p.m., they found the man with burns over 60 percent of his body, Szymanski said.

This is the third case in the past several weeks where gasoline being used as a cleaning agent caused a fire, Szymanski said.

"Gasoline should never be used for cleaning," Szymanski said. "Gasoline is probably the most dangerous liquid in the home."

Recently a house on the west side of the city was destroyed in a fire after a man tried to clean its floor with gasoline; in another incident a North Las Vegas man was seriously burned after using gasoline as a cleaning agent.

The fumes from the gasoline on Sunday ignited, causing a flash fire. The man was taken to University Medical Center, Szymanski said.

The entire back yard was burned away and there was some interior damage to furniture, Szymanski said. Damage was estimated at $3,000.

The man's girlfriend told fire investigators that he splashed gasoline over brush behind the two-story condo. When the man went inside the condo through a patio door, the fumes from the gasoline somehow ignited the man's clothing.

Fire investigators believe the man tried to roll on the living room carpet to smother the flames, Szymanski said, but instead some furniture ignited.

Then the man ran out the front door where neighbors doused him with a garden hose and others splashed him with a pitcher of water, Szymanski said.

Moments later, firefighters arrived and took the man to the UMC burn unit.