A horrible accident in Salangen, Norway just a few days ago.

Grandmother, grandfather and four grandchildren having a great time, sleeping in their big comfy canvas tent. The grandfather awoke early and brought the gas stove outside to make his morning coffee in the crisp, beautiful weather. He does not know that the gas canister has leaked over the night, filling the tent with explosive gas mixture, as is the air close to the ground just outside the tent. When he lit up the stove - instant explosion which then instantly set fire to basically anything flammable - in particular the canvas tent and 5 synthetic sleeping bags with sleeping persons.

The grandfather did anything he could, cut the burning tent open, immersed himself into the flames and tried to do whatever he could. I don't know what exactly, but stuff like rolling sleeping bags out into the snow and try to cut burning sleeping bags off his grand children and wife comes to mind. The more I think of it, the more horrible the images in my mind. That grand father (55) died last night. His wife and four of their grand children are all treated for severe and life threatening burns. The list in medical terms:
Boy, 4, critical and unstable.
Girl, 6, critical but stable.
Girl, 9, critical and unstable.
Boy, 12, critical and unstable.
Wife, 55, critical but stable.


Their tent was pitched almost literary on the porch of the closest of several vacation homes, many of those in use over the weekend. They provided almost instantaneous help and called in the police and ambulance. I don't think any camper could have received better, quicker and more adequate response. Several of the responding neighbors have paramedic training, and as they were real close they came almost instantly. Local police and emergency response was shuttled with snow mobiles to the site. Short distances made responses real quick, with the exception of the rescue helicopter. (2 hours to arrive, but that chopter has to cover quite a distance to get there.


Let this be a warning to us all:
Synthetic materials and canvas burns quick, ignites easily and the damages are horrific. Particular a synthetic sleeping bag is a death trap. You need to take this seriously.

Consider putting the gas canisters outside the tent when you sleep. This will prevent gas buildup in the sleeping area. (You probably won't notice the smell of propane when you wake up, because you will have gotten used to the smell, so you ignore it).

Take care that all connections are either fully and tightly coupled or fully disconnected. For the tragic case above, the most likely cause is a halfway screwed connection between the gas canister and the stove.

Don't rely on the gas canister valve to work - at night, put it outside.

Keep sharp knives at hand whenever dealing with the combination of fire and tent.

Link to a reasonably OK news article:
Link (google translate)