NEW YORK — A fire during a chemistry experiment at Beacon High School injured two students, leaving one with life-threatening burns.
The incident occurred on Jan. 2, when the science teacher used methanol as an accelerant to burn dishes of different minerals. As many as 30 students watched the experiment from their desks when a snakelike flame tore through the air and enveloped Alonzo Yanes, 16. The blaze seared and melted the skin on his face and body, the New York Times reports.
The fire also burned 16-year-old Julia Saltonstall’s T-shirt off and burned some of her hair. She escaped with only first-degree burns.
Weeks before the experiment, the United States Chemical Safety Board distributed a video warning about the very experiment that injured Yanes and Saltonstall, as the experiment has injured many nationwide.
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