Firefighters Accidentally Spray Fire With Jet Fuel Instead Of Water

Good thing it was only for practice!

A late-October training exercise in North Bend, Wash., went seriously awry after firefighters there mistakenly sprayed jet fuel on a fire instead of water.

Video of the mishap, recently obtained by area news outlet KING5, shows firefighters attempting to extinguish a mock-up of a burning aircraft on a runway. As firefighters arrive and begin spraying the area down with what is supposed to be water, the fire explodes in size rather than shrinking.

According to UPI, investigators believe a malfunctioning oil-water separator may have mistakenly contaminated the firefighters' water. The practice of using a separator to filter water from fuel allows departments to recycle water used for training and has been successfully implemented by other agencies.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident, though two firefighters did suffer minor burns.