San Diego man sues Amazon after recalled tabletop fire pit explodes

The fire pit was recalled in 2024, but the plaintiff says Amazon didn't do enough to notify him, resulting in severe third-degree burns when he later tried to light it. In this April 16, 2020, file photo, the Amazon logo is displayed in Douai, northern France. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File) SAN DIEGO (CN) — A San Diego man is suing Amazon over product liability and negligence after a tabletop alcohol fire pit he purchased from the retail giant exploded on him. Anthony Trevino, 35, says that the device, a Colsen brand tabletop fire pit, exploded while he was refilling the device, causing third-degree burns across his face, ears, neck, torso, arms, hands and fingers in less than one second, he says. “I never imagined a product sold to me as ‘safe and easy’ would do this to me in my own home,” Anthony Trevino, a former Navy rescue swimmer, said in a release. “My whole life, my job was to pull people out of danger. I can’t undo what happened to me, but I can hold Amazon accountable to ensure they stop selling products that are so dangerous they can alter the course of someone’s life.” The devices are small, portable fire pits that can use isopropyl alcohol to provide decorative flames or ambience. However, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered a recall of nearly 90,000 Colsen alcohol-burning fire pits over safety concerns in October 2024. “Amazon is responsible for putting this extremely dangerous product into the hands of an unsuspecting consumer.��And Amazon knew or should have known about those dangers well before Anthony Trevino ever bought the fire pit,” attorneys for Trevino told Courthouse News. Australia and Canada both cracked down on these types of alcohol burners for their risk to health and safety in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Specifically, Canada required stricter standards around the sale of pourable alcohol-based fuels and fire pits that did not have “flame-jetting” safeguards. Alcohol flames can burn invisibly, giving the impression that the fire needs more fuel. Flame-jetting occurs when more fuel is added and the flame travels up the stream of liquid and ignites the container it’s being poured from, which is what Trevino says happened to him. To reduce the risk of flame-jetting, the containers need a flame arrester, or screen, at the container opening. However, none of the containers sold or recommended by the defendants included flame arresters, Trevino claims in the lawsuit filed Wednesday. The products were recommended to him through his Amazon.com algorithm, Trevino says. The tabletop alcohol fire pits were advertised as smokeless and odorless decor that were easy to use and could be set up indoors or outdoors. Trevino said that he originally bought the fire pit and two 64-ounce bottles of fuel in 2021. After the product was recalled in 2024, Amazon sent an email that the product may not meet safety standards. Trevino says he did not see the email. “How many spam emails do we all get every day? Including plenty from Amazon,” attorneys for Trevino said. “If Amazon sent Anthony an email about the Colsen fire pit, he never saw it. And clearly, what happened to Anthony proves that Amazon didn’t do enough to warn him about the hidden danger of this fire pit. Anthony’s life has been changed forever. Through this lawsuit, we hope to change how retailers like Amazon operate things for the sake of public safety.” Trevino was enjoying the fire pit on his apartment balcony in September 2025 when he went to refuel the product. Not only did the product explode, causing catastrophic injuries, it also melted one of the lights and the turf grass on his balcony. “Plaintiff’s life has been forever altered,” Trevino says in the suit. “He will have to endure a lifetime of scarring, disfigurement, and pain, all because of the dangerous defects in the Colsen fire pits and defendants’ actions in manufacturing, distributing, marketing, and selling those products.” Trevino claims