The Bermuda Fire Service reminded the public yesterday that spraying poison into a crowd and then lighting it on fire is dangerous.

The warning came in the wake of a recent venue at Dandy Town in which a young man sprayed Baygon insect killer over the heads of the crowd and lit it with a cigarette lighter, creating a plume of fire. Senior Fire Protection Officer Melvin Outerbridge came across photos of the man and his flame-thrower while surfing photos of the July 26 event on the Bermynet entertainment website (www.bermynet.com).

The Fire Service has also received reports that similar incidents occurred at the Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires soca show at Tiger Bay, St. George's on August 9.

"(Aerosol products) shouldn't be used as flamethrowers in crowds anyway," D.O. Outerbridge said, adding that even hairspray is flammable and should not be used around candles or open flames. "But Baygon is highly explosive."

D.O. Outerbridge, Fire spokesman Lt. Dana Lovell and several other firefighters shared multiple horror stories of the dangers of abusing aerosol products such as Baygon. "The indiscriminate use of Baygon in the household is very, very dangerous," said Lt. Lovell. "You could be blown up."

Some of the true incidents the Bermuda Fire Service has encountered included a tale of an elderly lady chasing a cockroach behind a stove when her Baygon came into contact with the pilot light. "She was burned, the stove was blown away from the wall," said D.O. Outerbridge.

Another incident involved a Hamilton parish mother and daughter who sprayed Baygon too near their broiler and were severely burned. The firemen also related an incident at White Sands several years ago in which a can of Baygon exploded with such force during a fumigation that it caused cracks in the walls of the house.

Lt. Lovell provided a demonstration of the plume of fire that can issue from a can of Baygon, but not before donning full fire protection gear first. Heat from the three-foot flames could be felt instantly from about ten feet away.

Regarding the incident at Dandy Town, Lt. Lovell said: "I can only assume it was used to draw some attention to this young man. Could you imagine the spectacle this would create?

"And for him to hold it in his bare hands like that - I'm not trying that at all."

Emphasising they did not want people to stop using Baygon nor were they issuing a recall of the product, the firemen repeated their warning against using the product around any type of heat source. "Yes it kills bugs but it can kill you," said D.O. Outerbridge.

"Do not expose to temperatures about 50 degrees Celsius," said Lt. Lovell, reading the warning label on the back of the can. "Do not spray on naked flame... Do not use or put near flame."

"We don't want people to start using these inside buildings," said D.O. Outerbridge. The flames could easily reach decorations, curtains, even hair spray in women's hair, "and you could have one flash fire".

Remembering the fire in a crowded Rhode Island night-club last February that killed around 100 people, he added: "This is something that we are really concerned about."