Nineteen people have suffered burn injuries from a single brand of tabletop fire pit, and an elderly couple died after their unit produced an uncontrolled blaze. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has now issued recalls and urgent warnings covering multiple brands of alcohol-fueled tabletop fire pits, citing a hazard called flame jetting that can send burning fuel shooting out of the device. With roughly 66,000 units from one retailer alone sold for as little as $2.50, tens of thousands of these products are already in homes and on patios across the country.
Alcohol fire pits keep burning people faster than recalls can reach them
The core problem with these products is deceptively simple. Alcohol flames can be nearly invisible in daylight or bright indoor lighting, which means a user may believe the fire is out and pour more fuel into the pit. That act of refilling can trigger flame jetting, a flashback reaction that propels burning liquid out of the container and onto the person holding the fuel bottle or standing nearby. The CPSC has tied this hazard to two deaths and dozens of serious burn injuries since 2019, according to a recent alert the agency published this year.
The agency’s alert states that products requiring users to pour liquid fuel into an open container and ignite it in the same location violate voluntary standards intended to prevent flashback and splashing. That description covers a wide swath of inexpensive tabletop fire pits that have flooded discount retail channels and online marketplaces. Five Below, for example, sold about 66,000 units between April 2024 and August 2025 at prices between $2.50 and $5, a price point low enough to attract impulse purchases and high enough in volume to scatter the hazard widely before any recall notice could catch up.
The gap between distribution speed and recall reach is the central tension. A product priced under five dollars is easy to buy on a whim and easy to forget about when a recall notice appears weeks or months later. Many consumers never register products, save packaging, or check recall databases, so the units sit in garages, on shelves, or on outdoor tables until someone lights one up again-often at social gatherings where alcohol and distraction can further erode caution.
31 Colsen incidents, two FLIKRFIRE deaths, and 66,000 Five Below units
Three separate CPSC actions paint a picture of a hazard that spans brands and price tiers. Colsen fire pits generated 31 reported incidents and 19 burn injuries, including third-degree burns covering more than 40% of a victim’s body. That level of injury typically requires extended hospitalization, multiple skin grafts, and months of rehabilitation, with a high risk of infection and permanent scarring.
FLIKRFIRE tabletop fireplaces drew the most severe warning. The CPSC tied those units to two deaths, stemming from a June 2024 incident in which an elderly couple was killed after their device produced an uncontrolled pool fire that spread beyond the intended burn area. At least three additional incidents involved third- and fourth-degree burns. Fourth-degree burns extend through the skin into muscle and even bone, and the fact that a decorative consumer product can inflict that kind of damage signals a design flaw far beyond normal use-case risk.
Five Below’s recalled tabletop fire pits present the same hazard pattern. Alcohol fuel can splash or leak from the units, causing flash fires and flames that escape the pit entirely, igniting nearby clothing, furniture, or decking. The retailer sold roughly 66,000 of the small burners over a span of about 16 months. At that volume and price, the products likely reached a broad demographic of casual buyers who may not follow product safety news closely and who may already have discarded any packaging that could help identify the model.
Taken together, the CPSC’s actions cover at least three distinct product lines and document a consistent failure mode: liquid fuel plus open ignition plus invisible flame equals uncontrolled fire. The agency’s broader alert counts at least 60 injuries and two deaths across the entire category of alcohol or other liquid-burning fire pits since 2019, a tally that likely understates the problem because many minor burns go unreported and some victims may never connect their injuries to a specific product recall.
Gaps in enforcement and what consumers should do right now
Several questions remain open. The voluntary standards the CPSC references have not stopped these products from reaching store shelves or online listings, suggesting that either manufacturers misunderstand the requirements or are willing to gamble that enforcement will lag behind sales. Because the standards are voluntary rather than mandatory regulations, companies can technically ignore them until a pattern of injuries forces the agency to act through recalls, warnings, or litigation.
That enforcement model creates a dangerous delay. A design that allows refueling into an open flame may be inherently flawed, yet it can be sold widely until enough people are hurt to trigger a formal investigation. Inexpensive products sold through discount chains and third-party online sellers are especially prone to this pattern, because brand reputations are thin, and products can be rebranded or slightly redesigned faster than regulators can respond.
For consumers, the immediate guidance is blunt: if you own an alcohol- or liquid-fueled tabletop fire pit that requires pouring fuel into an open burner, stop using it. Check the CPSC’s recall notices and consumer alerts to see whether your specific model appears by name, but treat the underlying hazard as category-wide rather than brand-specific. Even units that have not yet been recalled may share the same basic design issues that make flame jetting possible.
Owners of Colsen or FLIKRFIRE products, or the recalled Five Below tabletop burners, should follow the instructions in the official recall or warning notices. That may include ceasing use immediately, contacting the manufacturer or retailer for a refund or replacement, and safely disposing of remaining liquid fuel. Do not attempt to “fix” a recalled unit with homemade shields or modified fuel containers; such changes can create new, unpredictable failure modes.
If you are determined to keep some form of tabletop flame feature, consider alternatives that do not rely on pourable liquid fuel. Gel-fueled units that use sealed canisters, electric flame-effect devices, or enclosed gas burners with clear shutoff valves offer safer options, though they still require basic fire precautions. Whatever the design, never refuel a device while it is hot, and keep flammable materials and loose clothing well away from open flames.
Finally, the pattern emerging from these cases underscores a broader lesson about bargain-priced products that involve heat or fire. A low sticker price can conceal high downstream costs in medical bills, property damage, and trauma. Until safety standards for tabletop fire features are strengthened and made enforceable, consumers will remain the last line of defense. That means scrutinizing how a product is fueled, how it is extinguished, and whether a moment’s inattention could turn a decorative flame into a life-altering injury.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
