What Is ‘Fire Challenge’? 12-Year-Old Girl Severely Burnt In Internet Trend

In yet another case of a social media challenge gone horribly wrong, a 12-year-old girl from Detroit, Michigan, was hospitalised with severe burns that covered half of her body after she participated in the “fire challenge.”

Timiyah Landers suffered burns in 49 percent of her body due to the challenge she tried Friday at her home. According to the Landers’s mother, Brandi Owens, she was hanging out with her friends when she was suddenly seen "engulfed in flames" after apparently mimicking a video she saw on YouTube.

The challenge involved pouring flammable liquid onto the naked torso and setting themselves on fire. The fire was to be quickly put out as well, but not before taking a video to be posted on social media platforms.

On Friday, Owens was taking a nap after making pancakes for Landers and her two friends when the incident occurred. Owens said she heard a small explosion which was followed by her daughter "running up [a] hallway on fire from her knees to her hair."

Owen’s fiancé quickly directed her to the bathtub and sprayed her down with water. Landers was rushed to the hospital, but she was severely burnt due to the incident.

"I can't help my baby. I can't help her," Owens said.

The two girls who were hanging out with her admitted they were trying out the “fire challenge.” One of the girls had seen a YouTube video of the challenge where the person doused themselves with rubbing alcohol and lit a fire.

Landers, who has six other siblings, was supposed to start seventh grade in the coming weeks. But due to the incident, she is currently on a ventilator and will have to be hospitalized for several more months. A GoFundMe page started by Owens stated that Landers needs at least three more surgeries.

Owens wants YouTube to ban such videos so that children would not be tempted to try it out and get hurt.

“They need to delete this mess," Owens said. "It should be censored. That’s nothing that a kid should come across. I could have lost my baby; by the grace of God she’s alive. If I wasn’t home, I would have walked in to my baby dead. ... These kids are trying these YouTube challenges. Monitor these kids, especially with these phones and if I could after with this happening, my kids would never be able to be on social media — no more iPhones, nothing."

The fire challenge is in no way new to the internet. It has had similar repercussions in the past as well.

In 2014, there were a series of incidents where youngsters and children alike set themselves on fire to take part in the challenge, which ended with many of them being badly burnt.

"I don't know, I wasn't thinking really," said a Kentucky teen that was injured due to the challenge in 2014.

Though similar stunts are performed by performing artists, they are professionals with experience who take precautions.