Playing with fire is a dangerous new meme

Medics have issued a warning about the dangers of the fire challenge that has hit the social media platform.

The activity involves applying flammable liquids to one’s body and then setting the liquids aflame, while being video recorded. The aftermath is then posted on social media sites

ER24 has spoken out against the reckless activity, hoping to dissuade individuals from trying it and preventing a serious accident occurring.

“People are screaming of pain and its a direct result of people taking part in the fire-challenge, a dare game that has gone viral on social media where the participant voluntary sets themselves alight by applying flammable liquids such as rubbing alcohol onto their body and filming the outcome,” said Werner Vermaak on behalf of ER24.

One of the first fire-challenge videos was uploaded in April 2012 onto YouTube where the user sets his chest hair alight. Since 2012, the video has had more than one hundred thousand views. In April 2013 a Vine user introduced the hash tag fire-challenge and it accompanied videos of users setting themselves alight.

“The challenge is to set yourself alight and extinguish the flames as fast as you can, however it rarely has a desirable outcome. We have watched almost a hundred videos on the internet on this so-called fire-challenge and none of them was without injury, pain or even death,” confirmed Vermaak.

In Buffalo New York a 15-year-old boy died after participating in the fire-challenge game on 24 July. He doused himself with alcohol and was set ablaze by his friends.

Apparently he was not near any water source and could not stop the fire quick enough.

“Even getting into water quickly can still leave serious burn wounds and inhalation burns can lead to suffocation.”

These challenges do not only affect children, but adults as well. However, teenagers are more susceptible to these challenges to establish a point of hierarchy within their friends’ circle.

Other challenges that have also become dangerous trends include the neknomination game – where the nominee is encouraged to down copious amounts of alcohol and the choking game, where the participant deliberately strangles or hangs himself/herself in an attempt to reach a state of euphoria.

“The choking game is still popular among teens, although not always identified in time and correctly. Teens would strangulate each other to the point where they pass out or get the feeling of being high. Some go as far as tying a belt or a rope around their neck and hang themselves from a door handle or bedpost. Many have died because of this so-called game,” concluded Vermaak.