Man catches fire after applying sunscreen

A warning about sunscreen as the summer season approaches.

A man from Massachusetts suffered second-degree burns after his Banana Boat spray-on sunscreen caught fire on his skin as he approached a grill.

Graphic photos show Brett Sigworth's skin severely burned by the flames from the grill. Only the areas with sunscreen were burned.

"I went into complete panic mode and screamed," said Sigworth. "I've never experienced pain like that in my life."

"As he approached the flame, the charcoal simply caught the vapor trail and it follows the vapor trail to his body," explained Dan Dillard with the Burn Prevention Network.

The Banana Boat sport aerosol indicates it is flammable and should not be used near heat. Safety experts say to wait several minutes after applying the aerosol before going near a fire.

The company issued a statement saying, " We are unaware of any prior incidents similar to what Brett has described, but because nothing is more important tous than the safety of our consumers, we are taking this matter very seriously."

Get more National/World »

fire, national/world

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•