Attorney General calls for ban on gel fuel products
CHICAGO— Attorney General Lisa Madigan is calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban the sale of gel fuel products used in portable fire pots.
Ceramic fire pots that use gel fuel have been around for about two decades, but they have recently become a popular way of creating ambience and repelling mosquitoes and other bugs.
"Here's the problem with the fuel gels," Attorney General Madigan told reporters today at a news conference at the Thompson Center. "They are usually sold in conjunction with a fire pot, and in these fire pots they have a metal container that you pour the fuel gel into. You then ignite that fuel gel and put it outside."
http://www.wgntv.com/wgntv-madigan-calls-for-ban-on-gel-fuel-products-aug10,0,6222813.storyIf Madigan Bans Sterno, How Will We Heat Our Fondue?
Calling it "over the counter napalm," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has started a campaign to have all gel fuels banned. 37 people nationwide have been burned by gel fuel, and 4 of them were in Illinois, leading Madigan to demand their recall. We're sure that caterers everywhere cried at the news - gel fuels are most commonly used for keeping chafing dishes hot during service.
The stories of burns, especially to children, are quite horrifying - according to NBC, the normal "stop, drop and roll" procedure just spreads the fire, and they printed some pretty heartbreaking pictures of burn victims. On the other hand, we'd be willing to bet that the number of people seriously burned by boiling water, or their gas stoves, is way higher. Perhaps the gel fuel should come with a warning? Or perhaps we're biased, as one of our favorite Chicago Classics would instantly be put out of business if such a ban was passed.
http://chicagoist.com/2011/08/11/if_madigan_bans_sterno_how_will_we.php
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