'My shirt was on fire': Texas boy severely burned after TikTok stunt goes wrong; family urges caution

A Texas boy is recovering in hospital after a TikTok-inspired experiment left him with severe burns.

Twelve-year-old Caden Ballard and his older brother had tried a viral stunt involving rubbing alcohol in a bottle that shoots flames when lit. At first, it seemed to work. But when Caden went to throw the bottle away, his shirt suddenly caught fire, Independent reported.

“My brother and I did that, and it was cool,” Caden told KXAN, recalling the incident on August 16. However, after the fire seemed to extinguish, his brother instructed him to dispose of the bottle. “My brother grabbed and said, ‘Here, throw it away.’ So, I grabbed it to throw it in the trash can, [and] my shirt was on fire,” the youngster explained.

“My brother and I did that, and it was cool,” Caden told KXAN, recalling the incident on August 16. However, after the fire seemed to extinguish, his brother instructed him to dispose of the bottle. “My brother grabbed and said, ‘Here, throw it away.’ So, I grabbed it to throw it in the trash can, [and] my shirt was on fire,” the youngster explained.

Their mother, Christina Ballard, was horrified when she found her son on the porch covered in burns. She credited Caden’s brother with quick thinking, ripping off the burning shirt and telling him to stop, drop and roll.

Caden was rushed to a burn unit in Dallas before being transferred to a children’s facility in Galveston. He has already undergone surgery and faces weeks of treatment, therapy, and recovery, according to a GoFundMe page that has raised nearly $1,500.

The family is now warning others about the risks of online stunts. “We got very lucky. Unfortunately, it’s bad — but it could have been so much worse,” Christina said.