– More information on camping safety

Girl Scouts Burned in Explosion
In Barnstead, New Hampshire, four Girl Scouts were injured after a makeshift cooking fuel can they were trying to refill exploded, spraying them with burning fuel. Two suffered serious burns and were hospitalized. The four kids ages 11 to 13 were among a group of about 75 Girl and Boy Scouts that had gathered at Camp Fatina. (USA Today, 9-15-2008, p. 13A)

Van Backs Over Tent, Killing 4-Month-Old
In Beaver Falls, Minnesota, a woman accidentally drove over an occupied tent at the Beaver Falls Campground near Morton on Sunday morning while trying to back into a parking area near the tent site. A 4-month-old boy who was resting with his family was killed, and his mother was hospitalized in stable condition. Police arrested the woman.

Man Runs Over His Wife and Kids in a Tent
In Norton Shores, Michigan, a man fell asleep at the wheel while warming up a parked vehicle, accidentally running over a tent that contained his wife and two children. The incident happened at Hoffmaster State Park. A 6-year-old child was seriously injured and airlifted to a Grand Rapids Hospital. The woman and a 2-year-old child were taken to a nearby hospital but weren’t seriously injured. (USA Today, 7-9-2009, p. 4A)

Safety tip:  When setting up your tent, pick an area away from normal vehicle traffic and in a spot that contains no dead or weakened overhead branches that might come down in a storm.

Tree Limb Crushes Children
In Colona, Illinois, a tree limb fell on a tent during a camping trip, killing two young children. Dustin Stuebs, age 4, died immediately; his 9-month-old sister Savannah Stuebs died from her injuries at a hospital about a week later. Several members of the Steubs family were asleep in their tent when high winds blew the branch down.