Boy, 12, In Burn Center After TikTok 'Whoosh Bottle' Challenge

EAST HAVEN, CT — A 12-year-old East Haven boy was burned Tuesday night while attempting the so-called "whoosh experiment," public safety officials said.

The child was taken to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital and soon transferred to the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center, according to East Haven Fire Department Chief Matt Marcarelli and East Haven Fire Marshal Charles Miller.

The "experiment" involves the use of alcohol and a bottle which is ignited and creates a “whoosh," Marcarelli explained. There are numerous videos that illustrate the experiment dating back more than a decade. It's explained that as low-boiling alcohols vaporize readily, when alcohol is placed in a 5-gallon, small-mouthed jug, it forms a volatile mixture with the air. But this is supposed to be done in a chemistry or science class with safety protocols in place.

First responders were called to a home at around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and while treating the boy, learned that he'd "been burned while imitating a TikTok experiment" which caused "severe burns," Marcarelli said.

"Fire is not a toy," Marcarelli said. "This could easily have led to a fatality as well as a major fire in the house. Alcohol is a volatile flammable liquid and can act as an accelerant.”

Miller investigated, and it's noted the fire marshal will be "reaching out to the East Haven Public Schools to make sure that kids are aware of the potential dangers associated with fire and this latest social media danger."

"Take a few minutes to talk to your children about the dangers of playing with ignitable liquids and matches and monitor what they are watching," Miller said. "This experiment when done incorrectly can cause severe burns that can permanently scar an individual.”

Meanwhile, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said that his office has reached out to TikTok "demanding answers as to how this dangerous 'Whoosh Bottle Experiment' was not removed from their platform," he wrote on Facebook.

"We’ve been assured by TikTok leaders in the past that they have systems in place to remove this harmful content, but clearly those systems are not working," Tong wrote, responding to the news about the East Haven boy. "We expect to meet with TikTok leaders, Connecticut parents and educators in early 2022 and urge them to step up and do better to protect our children."