A former Navy search-and-rescue swimmer says he was left with burns across much of his body after a popular tabletop fire pit sold on Amazon allegedly erupted while in use, according to a new lawsuit.
Anthony Trevino, 31, claims he sustained severe injuries in September 2025 while attempting to refuel the portable backyard fire pit.
The lawsuit alleges the device exploded, leaving Trevino with “gruesome third-degree burn injuries to his face, ears, neck, torso, arms, hands, and fingers.”
Court documents say the blast was powerful enough to melt a nearby light fixture and scorch the balcony fencing.
Trevino was “hospitalized for many weeks” and alleges that some of his injuries and scarring will be permanent.
“I never imagined a product sold to me as ‘safe and easy’ would do this to me in my own home,” Trevino said in a statement.
The fire pit, manufactured by Colsen Fire Pits and Gusar, LLC and sold through Amazon, is a tabletop model that uses rubbing alcohol as fuel.
Filed August 5 in San Diego Superior Court, the lawsuit accuses Amazon and Colsen Fire Pits of continuing to sell the device despite allegedly knowing it was a “defective and hazardous product known to have caused numerous burn injuries.”
Anthony Trevino, a 31-year-old former Navy search-and-rescue swimmer, was severely burned from a fire pit device and recently filed a lawsuit against Amazon and the device’s manufacturing company
The injuries occurred after the fire pit, made by Colsen Fire Pits and Gusar, LLC and sold by Amazon, exploded in 2025, causing third-degree burns to Trevino’s body and charring a nearby fence
The suit alleges the product was highly susceptible to ‘flame jetting,’ in which flames explode out of the device and travel up a stream of the rubbing alcohol meant to fuel the device.
‘My whole life, my job was to pull people out of danger. I can’t undo what happened to me, but I can hold Amazon accountable to ensure they stop selling products that are so dangerous they can alter the course of someone’s life,’ Trevino added.
The lawsuit argues he suffered ‘both physically and psychologically’ and aims to compensate Trevino for monetary damages for the loss of earnings and medical expenses.
The suit alleges that Trevino purchased the fire pit on Amazon’s website in 2021.
Based on Amazon’s algorithm, he also purchased isopropyl alcohol, commonly known as rubbing alcohol, to fuel the device.
‘He was hoping to use the fire pit to provide some nice ambience on his outdoor patio in his apartment in San Diego,’ the lawsuit alleged.
Trevino’s lawyers claimed the defendants were aware that ethanol burners in general, ‘were and are defective and extremely dangerous,’ as they were already outlawed in Australia and Canada.
‘My whole life, my job was to pull people out of danger. I can’t undo what happened to me, but I can hold Amazon accountable to ensure they stop selling products that are so dangerous they can alter the course of someone’s life’
Trevino’s lawyers claimed the Defendants were aware that ethanol burners in general, ‘were and are defective and extremely dangerous,’ as they were already outlawed in Australia and Canada.
The lawsuit confirms Amazon sent an email to anyone who purchased Colsen-branded fire pits saying: ‘the product… may not meet current mandatory or voluntary safety standards.’
However, the lawsuit claims that the notification ‘did not offer to refund the purchase price or advise buyers such as plaintiff that the product was defective and using it could result in catastrophic burn injuries.’
Jeremy Robinson, one of Trevino’s attorneys, said a 2020 decision in a separate San Diego case helped set the precedent for suing Amazon for products it sells through third parties.
The case involved a woman being injured and burned after she purchased a replacement laptop battery.
Amazon claimed they were merely an online marketplace and could not be held liable for third-party product defects, but a panel from a California appeals court disagreed.
According to court documents, many individuals in the United States have filed similar lawsuits against Colsen Fire Pits and Amazon.
Colsen Fire Pits filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and appears to no longer be in business.
