Boy, four, left with horrendous facial burns after freak accident at Oklahoma children’s museum
A four-year-old was left with horrendous facial burns after he was accidentally set alight during an activity at an Oklahoma children’s museum.
Ryker Corona suffered severe burns during a s’mores making activity at the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, 60 miles from Oklahoma City, on June 21.
His family claims hand sanitizer was spilled over the hot grill while Ryker participated in the activity, engulfing the immediate area – and the four-year-old – in flames.
Museum staff immediately rushed to smother the blaze by patting it out on the child, KOCO reports. Several guests and employees then tried to cool the burns using bottles of water and called 911.
The youngster was air lifted to a hospital in the capital city and has underwent at least one surgery, according to a crowdfunder established for him and his family.
His mother Alexus Corona has filed a lawsuit against the museum and accused staff of being ‘negligent, grossly negligent, and reckless’, according to the complaint obtained by KFOR.
Ryker remains hospitalized and is being treated for first and second-degree burns on his chest, face and arms. Corona is demanding $10million in damages.
The museum, in a statement on its Facebook page, said it is ‘conducting a thorough review of the incident’ and has ‘suspended’ the s’mores activity as museum officials ‘evaluate and revise safety protocols’.
‘Our thoughts are with the injured child and family as they navigate recovery,’ the statement added.
Ryker suffered severe burns on June 21 after a bottle of hand sanitizer exploded and caught him on fire during a s’mores activity at the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, Oklahoma on June 21
His mother Alexus Corona has filed a lawsuit against the museum and accused staff of being ‘negligent, grossly negligent, and reckless’. She is demanding $10million in damages
Ryker and his family had been at Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum for just a few minutes when museum staff started to make s’mores, local media reports.
His family claims hand sanitizer was spilled over the hot grill while Ryker participated in the activity, engulfing the immediate area – and the four-year-old – in flames.
The boy’s grandmother Tammy Reich says he sustained burns on 15 per cent of his body.
‘He has first and second-degree burns, and the second-degree burns are on his lower left arm, and he has blisters all over his face,’ she told KTUL.
Reich, who accompanied Ryker during the helicopter ride to Integris Baptist Hospital, says he realized during the flight what had happened to him.
‘He was like, “Grammy, they set me on fire. They set me on fire”,’ she recalled.
The museum says seven staff members were in the room when the accident occurred. A total of 32 workers were available on the property.
Two employees had been attending the s’mores station and a third employee was ‘next in line’ when the fire broke out. The trio ‘immediately started to smother the fire on the child’, the museum claimed.
A guest also worked with staff to help get Ryker out of the blaze, officials added.
Ryker remains hospitalized and is being treated for first and second-degree burns on his chest, face and arms
Museum staff immediately rushed to smother the blaze by patting it out on the child. Several guests and employees then tried to cool the burns using bottles of water and called 911
But Ryker’s loved ones claim staff did not help the child, alleging instead that he was assisted by other museumgoers.
‘They just stood there, they were frozen,’ close family friend Daycee Phillips told KOTV. ‘Mostly, customers, parents put him out and called 911.’
The table top s’mores maker used in the activity was created by HKZ TECH and purchased from Amazon in September last year, the museum said. The device is comprised of a ‘concrete container inlayed with a metal bin and a removable lid’.
Officials say the bottom of the bin was lined with a cotton-wool wick, and ‘per the directions, the wick was dampened with isopropyl alcohol’.
When lit, the s’mores maker is meant to create a 2″ flame that burns until the wick either dries up or the flame is smothered by the lid being placed on top.
But something went terribly wrong during the demonstration last month. Phillips, who witnessed the incident, recalled hearing a ‘loud boom’ as the blaze erupted.
She said everyone looked towards the noise to see ‘huge flames on the table’.
‘Everybody was screaming,’ she said, noting how Ryker laid on the floor as ‘people were trying to pat him out, pouring water on him’.
Phillips added: ‘I just remember watching, and the water was not putting out the alcohol fire.’
Ryker’s loved ones are calling on the museum to implement stricter safety protocols and improve staff training
A GoFundMe account was created to help the family with Ryker’s medical costs and other related expenses. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $10,000
A GoFundMe account was created to help the family with Ryker’s medical costs and other related expenses. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $10,000.
Meanwhile, Ryker’s loved ones are calling on the museum to implement stricter safety protocols and improve staff training.
Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum has launched an internal review into the incident.
