Mom warns of the dangers of using portable fireplace after her head went up 'like a firework' during July 4 celebration when her partner refilled it

A mother has warned of the dangers of using a portable fireplace after her head went up 'like a firework' when her partner attempted to refill it during July 4 celebrations.

Rachel Kerr, 52, was sitting out on her decking with her 14-year-old son and her partner Mike Stone when the ethanol fireplace, often marketed as a s'mores maker, 'exploded'.

Mr Stone, 47, went to relight the small fireplace, but as he refilled the container with alcohol, Ms Kerr claims a 'wave of flames' shot towards the beauty educator and set her hair alight.

The mother-of-two was drenched in buckets of water by Mr Stone before an ambulance arrived and took her to the Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Horrifying photos showed the skin falling away from her face and neck leaving bright red, raw flesh underneath - and she was left with second degree burns.

She claimed she was 'lucky to be alive' after medics were forced to scrape the dead tissue away from the wounds which she said was more agonizing than childbirth.

Rachel Kerr, 52, (pictured before the accident) was sitting out on her decking with her 14-year-old son and her partner Mike Stone when the ethanol fireplace, often marketed as a s'mores maker, 'exploded'

Horrifying photos showed the skin falling away from her face and neck leaving bright red, raw flesh underneath - and she was left with second degree burns

The mother of two claimed she was 'lucky to be alive' after medics were forced to scrape the dead tissue away from the wounds which she said was more agonizing than childbirth

Now she has shared her ordeal on social media where she said the incident 'lit her up like a firework' in a bid to warn others to be careful when using them. 

The 52-year-old mom had bought the portable fireplace from Amazon three years prior and said she used it often with her family.

Ms Kerr, from Lynnwood, Washington, US said: 'We had the tabletop fireplace, just a little concrete block with a hole in it basically.

'Usually when it burns out that is when we're like "do we wanna go inside and go to bed?"

'This particular night it was 4th of July, nobody had to go to work the next day so we were like "let's stay out for another hour".

'We got the alcohol, the accelerant, to refill it. My partner took the cap off and went to refill it. The fire was completely out when we poured more fuel in.

'As he refilled it, we have no idea what happened. It literally just exploded.

'It was like a wave of flames that just flew at me. It was a jet stream of wind, that was like how the flames shot at me.

'As the heat started coming towards my face, I had just enough time to turn my head away from the flame.

Ms Kerr, from Lynnwood, Washington, in hospital after the burns accident 

The family were using the portable fire which looks like a little concrete block with a hole in it

Ms Kerr pictured before the burns accident pictured with partner Mike Stone, 47

The accident was caused when Mr Stone (pictured with his partner after the accident) went to relight the small fireplace, but as he refilled the container with alcohol. Ms Kerr claims a 'wave of flames' shot towards the beauty educator and set her hair alight

Ms Kerr three weeks after the accident. She had tried to roll after she caught fire but the flames would not go out

Ms Kerr five weeks after the burns accident. Her partner repeatedly dumped water over her head until the ambulance arrived

The chair which Ms Kerr was sitting on caught fire after the portable fireplace from Amazon went up in flames

'I mean I still had my eyebrows and eyelashes and everything [burnt] off. I put one of my hands up and it got one of my hands really bad.

'It was a rush of flames. All of a sudden I kept seeing flames and I couldn't quite understand what was happening. Then I realised my hair was on fire.

'[When it lit me up like a firework,] in that moment, all I really felt was heat.

'I was in disbelief and just [felt] sheer terror.'

After trying to put the fire out by rolling on the floor, Mr Stone called 911 and was told by paramedics to pour water on Ms Kerr.

When the ambulance arrived, they cut her shirt and jewellery off before taking her into the emergency room to begin the process of debriding.

Debriding is the process of 'scraping' dead tissue from wounds that Ms Kerr claims was more agonizing than childbirth.

Ms Kerr said: 'I kind of jumped into action. I stood up and we rushed into the bedroom.

'Mike was yelling at me 'get on the floor, roll'. I tried to roll and the flames would not go out. Mike was patting me on my head and back.

An online screenshot of the portable Amazon tabletop fire which went up in flames

Ms Kerr eating a meal in hospital after the burns accident

Ms Kerr has now shared her ordeal on social media where she said the incident 'lit her up like a firework' in a bid to warn others to be careful when using them

Ms Kerr suffered second degree burns on seven percent of her body, concentrated on her face, neck, chest and one of her hands

Since then, she said her recovery has been 'intensely' painful, including 'skin-crawling' dressing changes

'We got the pitcher from the back of the sink and he just started dumping water over my head until the ambulance got there.

'I didn't start to feel the pain of it until the fire was out and I was smouldering, then I started really feeling the pain.

'We got to the emergency room and they started this process called debriding which [meant] they basically were scraping all of my burned areas. [It] was just insane.

'Even with as much pain meds as I had in me, I was thinking in my brain I would rather have three more children with no meds than go through what I was going through.'

Ms Kerr suffered second degree burns on seven percent of her body, concentrated on her face, neck, chest and one of her hands.

Since then, her recovery has been 'intensely' painful, including 'skin-crawling' dressing changes, while she has also been dealing with the emotional pain of looking in the mirror as her hair had to be cut off.

Ms Kerr said: 'The first week I couldn't shower by myself, my partner Mike was changing my dressings for me and feeding me.

'For someone like me, it was just life-changing because I'm extremely independent.

Ms Kerr said when her partner was dressing her wounds, it made her skin crawl due to how painful it was, despite being on medication from the hospital

The most recent picture of Ms Kerr following the accident

'The pain was so intense. When he was dressing my wounds, it made my skin crawl how painful it was and this is with medication from the hospital.

'The nerve pain in my neck, every once in a while my neck will seize up on me as they're repairing themselves. It stops me in my tracks as it's extremely painful.

'I lost all my hair so I had to cut all my hair off and so it's a struggle looking in the mirror sometimes in the morning, so you have that emotional pain as well.'

Ms Kerr, who feels 'lucky to be alive', now hopes to warn others about the 'dangers' when using tabletop ethanol fireplaces as they often seem like an 'easy and convenient' option.

Ms Kerr said: 'Luckily, I was sitting probably three feet away from it. I think that if I would have been sitting any closer, it would be a completely different story.

'Sitting six inches closer, I don't know that I'd be here today honestly. The pictures we got from the very next day, I'm extremely lucky to be alive.

'I don't know if it could have happened any time in the three years prior, we have zero idea what was different this time.

'Just be careful or don't use them. We've done research on this and it's not something that is uncommon. I've had people reach out who have had similar stories.

'I think these new little contraptions make it seem very convenient and very easy, but they're very dangerous.'