A social media trend has gone viral on TikTok, sending some children to the hospital and causing them to fight for their survival. In the TikTok trend known as the ‘Fireball Challenge’, kids are using either an aerosol can or rubbing alcohol to create a fireball and are filming it to record the reactions on the video.
Unfortunately, it has gone catastrophically wrong for several children, with some ending up in the hospital.
This one incident occurred in August 2023, but the 12-year-old boy’s mother recently spoke with The Sun to raise awareness and warn others about the hazards of the ‘Fireball Challenge’.
What is the TikTok fireball challenge?
Tiffany Roper, a 35-year-old IT worker from Arizona, is underlining the dangers of social media following a traumatic incident involving her son, Corey, who was severely burned as a result of a “TikTok challenge.” The incident took place in Tucson last August, shortly after Corey’s 12th birthday. “Because of social media, my baby is scarred for life,” said the 35-year-old IT professional.
Tiffany was awoken by her son’s excruciating screams one morning and raced to his aid, only to see him engulfed in flames in his bedroom.
She reacted quickly and drenched him with water from the kitchen hose faucet until emergency services arrived. Doctors later observed that Corey’s survival was largely due to his family’s fast response.
The cause of Corey’s injuries became obvious when paramedics arrived. He had attempted the “fireball challenge,” a dangerous trend in which participants ignite rubbing alcohol to create a made-up explosion.
Corey had accidentally lit the alcohol, ignorant of its high combustion rate. Tiffany discovered other similar videos on TikTok, demonstrating the viral nature of this dangerous trend among youth.
Corey was admitted to the intensive care unit and put into an induced coma for treatment
“I ended up grabbing my hose faucet from my sink and just spraying him down with water and flooding my kitchen until 9-1-1 got there,” Roper told local media. “My daughter heard it as well, so she woke up and got a towel, soaked in cold water, and put it over him to try to help with the burns.”
Corey was taken to Banner Diamond Children’s Medical Center, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit and put into an induced coma for treatment. Subsequent examinations indicated second-third-degree burns on 45 to 50 percent of his body, including his face, neck, jaw, ears, back, arms, and left leg. Corey underwent several procedures during his hospitalization to clean his wounds and acquire skin grafts from his thigh
After two weeks in a coma, Corey began the difficult process of recovery, which included relearning to walk. He was discharged from the hospital a month later, but he still needs weekly physiotherapy and continued medical care to help him recover and move around.