Body lotion can be a fire hazard

LONDON: Hundreds of fire deaths could be linked to flammable skin creams, a senior firefighter has warned.

Some products for eczema and dry skin contain high levels of paraffin. The creams can soak into clothes or bedding and burst into flames when they come into contact with a heat source.

Last year, a BBC investigation found that since 2010, there had been 37 deaths in England linked to skin creams containing paraffin. The figures were based on responses from just six of the UK’s 53 fire brigades, and it is believed there have been a further eight deaths since November 2016.

Chris Bell, a watch commander at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, warned the actual number linked to the creams was likely to be much higher.

“Hundreds of thousands of people use them – we’re not sure how many might have occurred but it could be into the hundreds.”

Paraffin is also found in creams that treat joint conditions. Bell warned that regular users who failed to change clothes or bedding often enough were particularly at risk.

Brian Bicat, 82, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, died last year after cigarette embers sparked paraffin residue from his skin cream and set his clothes alight.

He suffered third-degree burns across half of his body, and later died.

In 2015, Christopher Holyoake, 63, died after his bedclothes – covered in residue from one of the creams – caught fire as he lit a cigarette.

The same year, another cream was linked to the death of 84-year-old John Hill, whose clothing ignited at a nursing home.

Last year, the medicines watchdog urged manufacturers to put warnings on their products. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency advises patients using such creams should change clothing and bedding “regularly, preferably daily”. – Daily Mail