Girl, 8, accidentally kills herself with boiling fat

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Quote :

Tiffany Smith, described as a “helpful girl”, died in November 2006 after suffering 38 per cent burns at her home. Her mother Paula Smith, 36, had told Tiffany not to touch the deep-fat fryer, but Mrs Smith turned around to find the child “on tiptoes” and pulling the fryer basket over.

A “hysterical” Tiffany ran into the garden, then back into the kitchen. “I started to take her clothes off and I could feel they were burning hot,” Mrs Smith said. She died at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children four weeks later of bronchopneumonia.

Shit like that is why I don't use a deep-fat fryer. I'm pretty clumsy, myself, and... just the thought of something like that happening is enough to seriously scare me away from using one.

Just... *shudders*

Yeah. I grew up with this impression that all deep-fat fryers eventually explode (what? I was a kid) and to this day I steer clear of them. Because of these kinds of things.


How did the burns give her pneumonia, though?

grmblfjx wrote:

How did the burns give her pneumonia, though?

Septicemia complications. The Daily Mail's article on it goes into more detail about how she died and gruesome autopsy stuff like that.

grmblfjx wrote:

Yeah. I grew up with this impression that all deep-fat fryers eventually explode (what? I was a kid) and to this day I steer clear of them. Because of these kinds of things.

I steer clear of them because as well as the possibility of electrical problems, they can just plain break. There are no moving parts in a saucepan of fat, and they're a lot cheaper to replace.

It's a pity this happened, but a kitchen is full of dangerous items and also not separated from the rest of the house like, say, a toolshed is.

Burning is a horrible, horrible way to die. Boiling fat is one of the worst burns you can get because you're not supposed to pour water on it because that will make it worse.

I feel so sorry for both the woman and her daughter.

I don't even like getting popped when I cook bacon so, uh, this is unfathomably terrifying.

Mafiosa wrote:

I don't even like getting popped when I cook bacon so, uh, this is unfathomably terrifying.

This. Also, pans full of boiling water/food can give me the creeps, too, given that pans have a handle and handles can be knocked and pans can fall over and fucking hot stuff can then spill all over you...

Yes, I habitually imagine worst-case scenarios happening to myself, why do you ask?

I've used deep fat friers for all of my adult life with no problems. That said I don't believe that a child should be allowed near one.

Mafiosa wrote:

I don't even like getting popped when I cook bacon so, uh, this is unfathomably terrifying.

Heh, I'd rather cook chips than fry bacon. Bacon spits, fryers just bubble (even if they're overly hot).

Ezri Dax wrote:

I've used deep fat friers for all of my adult life with no problems. That said I don't believe that a child should be allowed near one.

Ummm... yeah, that's kinda the point.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

When I was but a little, neurotic, 8-year old Doobie, one of my many fears was that when I was making instant oatmeal, I would trip, fall, and my face would go through the kettle and into the boiling water, burning my face away, blinding me, and slowly killing me horribly. Sadly, this little girl had to suffer a fat that's probably worse than the one I feared so much, if only because so much more of her body got burnt, and because she died a lot quicker than I would've expected myself. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

That's why I'm going to be incredibly leery of my kid going anywhere near a kitchen.

Mafiosa wrote:

I don't even like getting popped when I cook bacon so, uh, this is unfathomably terrifying.

One time my girlfriend and I made a bet. She lost. She had to cook bacon naked.

She hated me for that, and I really regretted making that stipulation when I lost the bet next.

Mr.Doobie wrote:

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When I was but a little, neurotic, 8-year old Doobie, one of my many fears was that when I was making instant oatmeal, I would trip, fall, and my face would go through the kettle and into the boiling water, burning my face away, blinding me, and slowly killing me horribly. Sadly, this little girl had to suffer a fat that's probably worse than the one I feared so much, if only because so much more of her body got burnt, and because she died a lot quicker than I would've expected myself.

Intentional pun? You decide!

Mr.Doobie wrote:

One time my girlfriend and I made a bet. She lost. She had to cook bacon naked.

She hated me for that, and I really regretted making that stipulation when I lost the bet next.

...Then she dumped you, right?

InkWeaver wrote:

Intentional pun? You decide!

It's a fat worse than death.

My friend's daughter recently suffered burns after getting her hands into a hot oven (no idea how that happened). A kitchen is already such a dangerous place for a kid, why add more potentially harmful stuff? That said, I hate deep-fryers with a passion. They belong in restaurants where people know how to handle them, not in kitchens with kids around.

Malganis wrote:

Ezri Dax wrote:

I've used deep fat friers for all of my adult life with no problems. That said I don't believe that a child should be allowed near one.

Ummm... yeah, that's kinda the point.

YOU missed the point. Everyone after the OP was going on about how they, presumably adults, are scared like little girls by deep fat fryers.

. . .

Okay, that was a bad way of phrasing it, but you get my point. He was just saying it's not necessarily normal for shit like this to happen (if it did, McDonald's employees would have a higher casualty rate than the Marines) and the fear was a little silly.

InkWeaver wrote:

Mr.Doobie wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

When I was but a little, neurotic, 8-year old Doobie, one of my many fears was that when I was making instant oatmeal, I would trip, fall, and my face would go through the kettle and into the boiling water, burning my face away, blinding me, and slowly killing me horribly. Sadly, this little girl had to suffer a fat that's probably worse than the one I feared so much, if only because so much more of her body got burnt, and because she died a lot quicker than I would've expected myself.

Intentional pun? You decide!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Malganis wrote:

Mr.Doobie wrote:

One time my girlfriend and I made a bet. She lost. She had to cook bacon naked.

She hated me for that, and I really regretted making that stipulation when I lost the bet next.

...Then she dumped you, right?

1) I told her and told her there was no way Adam Lambert would win American Idol.
2) It's all in fun.

i bet she smelled delicious though

SirDixonDongs wrote:

i bet she smelled delicious though

Goddamn you! I was going to say that!

u mad

bet shed go well with the backpack kid sauce

SirDixonDongs wrote:

bet shed go well with the backpack kid sauce

Are we going to use Backpack-kun Sauce as a dip or a marinade?


Fuck, between Mal's ice-cream chick avatar and all this deep fried child meat talk, I'm starting to get hungry.

backpack-kun and fryer-chan otp

This just reminds me of how angry Heavy Rain made me for forcing me to put ointment on burns. YOU DON'T TREAT SECOND-DEGREE BURNS THAT WAY


(hey as long as we're all talking about how this story affected us personally re: burns)

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Malganis wrote:

Ezri Dax wrote:

I've used deep fat friers for all of my adult life with no problems. That said I don't believe that a child should be allowed near one.

Ummm... yeah, that's kinda the point.

YOU missed the point. Everyone after the OP was going on about how they, presumably adults, are scared like little girls by deep fat fryers.

. . .

Okay, that was a bad way of phrasing it, but you get my point. He was just saying it's not necessarily normal for shit like this to happen (if it did, McDonald's employees would have a higher casualty rate than the Marines) and the fear was a little silly.

Exactly. Deep fat friers are not dangerous when handled properly. Mine even has a cut off so that when the fat reaches the proper cooking temperature it doesn't get heated any further (this eliminates the risk of it becoming hot enough to catch fire). Of course it would still burn if I were stupid enough to put my hand into it or throw a glass of water into it, but since I'm not it is quite safe to use.