A TikTok challenge gone wrong caused a South Shore apartment fire and explosion that left a 1-year-old boy clinging to life, with burns covering more than 60 percent of his body Saturday evening, according to a Chicago police.
Two adults, including a 29-year-old man who suffered burns was in critical condition at a hospital, were also injured during the incident.
The fire and explosion erupted around 6:35 p.m. Saturday in the 6800 block of South Merrill Street after the baby’s cousin placed rubbing alcohol inside of a microwave as part of a TikTok challenge, according to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times.
As fire officials were working on the boy, his mother allegedly became upset at the pace they were working and took her son in her own vehicle to try and find a hospital before arriving at Comer Children’s Hospital roughly two hours later, the police report states.
By the time they got to Comer’s, the boy was in full cardiac arrest and had burns to over 60% of his body, police said. He was in critical condition and on life support, according to the report.
A 29-year-old man suffered burns to his body and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was also in critical condition, officials said.
A woman, 26, suffered minor burns to her body and was also taken to the University of Chicago where she was listed in fair condition, according to police.
A TikTok representative didn’t immediately have information.
The state Department of Children and Family Services, which notified Area 1 detectives of the incident, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.