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Man Nearly Killed By Sunscreen And It Happens More Than You Think

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A Boston man was nearly killed after a freak accident ... involving sunscreen.

Yes, sunscreen.Specifically, Banana Boat Sport aerosol sunscreen.

The product designed to keep people from burning, can easily ignite. And Brett Sigworth in Boston suffered serious burns when sunscreen he slathered over his body caught fire.

It only took a second, he said. Covered in sunscreen he stood too close to his bbq grill at his lakefront home in Stow. His body became engulfed in flames.

"I went into complete panic mode," Sigworth says. "I've never experienced pain like that in my life."

The near-tragedy is a cautionary tale for others. And Sigworth wanted to speak out to alert others to the dangers. "I just came out to put on sunscreen, went to corner of the deck sprayed it on, rubbed it on. I walked over to my grill, took the holder to move bricks around and all of a sudden flames went up my arm."

Sigworth explains -- probably like a lot of people believe -- that he didn't think the product itself was flammable once applied to the skin. "The warnings only read, 'Flammable, don't use near heat, flame or while burning.

"I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else so I would warn people to be careful," he says.

Rachel Kim, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, says these types of burns happen more than you think.

The danger is very real. And she spoke with LA County Fire to get some of the dos and don'ts about sunscreen.

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