The moment you find out you’re pregnant is an exciting time. There is a lot to look forward to as your pregnancy progresses and you look to welcome a new person into your life. Many couples count down to finding out if they're having a boy or a girl, and there’s no question that elaborate gender reveal ideas have been on the rise. However, so have the stories of gender reveal fails gone dangerously wrong. One couple is in some trouble after police say their gender reveal party sparked a 10-acre fire in Florida.
A 10-acre fire first broke out March 28 in the Grant-Valkaria region in Brevard County, Florida.
Officials have since linked the blaze to a gender reveal party gone wrong. According to Brevard County Fire Rescue Chief Mark Schollmeyer, their area is under a “burn ban,” and he’s urging everyone to follow the rules after a fire broke out in the area thanks to a gender reveal that didn’t go as planned.
Firefighters were called to a home after a fire broke out that officials believe was ignited by fireworks or other explosives.
“We were informed that it was caused by gender reveal using Tannerite and a weapon,” Schollmeyer told WESH News. “Something as seemingly innocent as a gender reveal can turn into a large-scale disaster where homes are threatened,” he explained.
The fire was “fast-moving in heavy fuel” and burned 10 acres of land and brush before being contained, Florida Forest Services and county fire officials say.
Thankfully, no homes were damaged, and no one was hurt, the Brevard County Fire Rescue said. However, officials still urge people to heed the fire ban rules.
“Especially during all these potential COVID responses and medical responses, it can quickly overwhelm resources, and by that, I mean, it will leave no resources to respond to those medical calls when needed,” Schollmeyer explained.
It’s not clear whether the people who started the fire with their gender reveal gone wrong have been fined.
Officials said ignoring the burn ban, which includes “open burning” activities such as trash burning, bonfires, and campfires, because of the dry conditions can come with a $500 fine and/or jail time.
This isn’t the first time a gender reveal has gone wrong and ignited a fire.
In April 2017, a combination of wind gusts and a gender-reveal using the same explosive chemical, Tannerite, caused a significant fire at Colorado National Forest, causing more than $8 million in damage and requiring nearly 800 firefighters working over the course of a week to get the fire under control.
