Children lef t scarred for life af ter camping kettle blast at class
THREE children suffered horrific burns when a camping kettle exploded at an outdoor cooking class.
One of the youngsters was kept in intensive care for 24 hours, was still in hospital nine days later and is likely to have permanent scarring.
It is understood pressure built up inside the kettle before it exploded, spraying boiling water over the children.
The pupils, aged 11 and 12, were taking part in the after-school class in a wooded area behind Lumphinnans Primary in Cowdenbeath, Fife, on June 12.
Two of the children were treated for scalding to their faces and bodies, while the third had burns on his back as a result of the explosion.
Fife Council said ‘a full investigation is taking place’ into the incident, during an extra-curricular school activity.
Brian Griffin, whose son Ryan was one of the injured children, said he plans to sue Fife Council.
Ryan and his friend Charles Radlski, along with a girl, were taken to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife. About ten pupils were taking part in the event when the incident occurred. They were sitting together while the kettle boiled.
Mr Griffin, 42, told the BBC: ‘The teachers said they had been told during training by the outdoor company that they were to keep the plug [of the kettle] in – but I’ve checked online and it says you are to keep the cork out. Ryan said they were all sitting around it and he saw the cork coming off so he quickly turned his back on it and it exploded all over his back.
‘The pressure had built up inside and meant it was a bomb waiting to go off. I’m very angry and upset because my son is badly burned. He was screaming with the pain.’
At the family home in Cowdenbeath, Ryan’s mother Jo, 35, a shop worker, said: ‘My son was in a lot of pain but he has dealt with it really well. It was not very nice. That’s all I’m going to say.
‘The hospital said if it wasn’t for the actions the school took it could have been much worse. The school have been excellent all the way through, calling us to see if he’s OK. But we have not heard anything from Fife Council.’
Wojtek Radlski told the BBC his 12-year-old son Charles was scalded on the face and shoulder and the burns became infected.
He needed surgery at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Mr Radlski, 42, said: ‘When my wife and I saw our son, we both cried because his burns were so bad. He was vomiting with the infection and in intensive care for 24 hours – and is still in hospital now, over a week later. The doctor said he would be scarred for life.
‘I sent my son to school in good health and this has happened. He told me they were sitting very close to the kettle, then he doesn’t remember much after it exploded. I’m so worried about my son.’
Carrie Lindsay, Fife Council’s executive director of education and children’s services, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the children who were injured and a full investigation is currently taking place. We can’t comment further.’
‘It was a bomb waiting to go off’