Flick a Bic 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
In the sunny town of Berkely, in the Golden State of California, there once resided a fireman who set his own head on fire.
This man, who carried the experience of nearly a decade of battling blazes beneath his belt, from little backyard barbecues to massive warehouse infernos to arsons, suffered a massive slip of common sense in his wife's home on afternoon. He was on leave for a week, as is the norm for working professional firefighters, for some relaxation time. He was also a smoker, and as such, usually carried a lighter with him to light up whenever he felt the need for nicotine.
On one particular day, while sitting on the living room couch in his wife's Berkely home, lazily watching television, he became rather facinated with the way the gas from a lighter sounds when the lever is pressed. Toying with the flame making device he held it up to his left ear, the fellow is left handed, and began flicking the Bic lighter to produce a fresh hiss of escaping gas. As these things go, soon enough he reached too far up and struck the flint along with the gas lever, producing a cheery flame that quickly found the handy fuel of his hair to leap upon.
At first he did not realize his hair was on fire. It was only when until he actually felt flames licking at his ear and fingers did he realize what he had done. In a panic he then began beating at his own head to try to extinguish the flames, but, as he could not see where the flames where, he missed the majority of them and they quickly swept to the top of his head, for a moment making him appear akin to an extremely animated matchstick. It was around this moment that his wife, who was sitting nearby watching the performance, knowing full well what was inevitably due to happen but letting her husband do it anyway, rushed up to help him beat his head out.
Eventually the fire was extinguished and the house suffered no more damage than a soot spot on the ceiling. The fireman did not die, was burned nearly bald in a few spots, but lives to be laughed at to this day.
He's also my father.
Submitted on 11/08/2003
Submitted by:
SRSilverhawk@aol.com
Reference:
Personal Account, early 1987
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