Coleman Blackcat Heater burns up!

[gulllakeguy]

Just a heads up for all of you FM'ers out there. Dad had his Blackcat heater in his enclosed deerstand and left it to help his 14 year old grandson(who was also in the stand with him) field dress his first deer. Grandpa is working on the deer and grandson hollers "Grandpa the deerstand is on fire!" Both guns burned up. Plus gear. Called the fire dept cause he was worried about fire spreading with the high winds. One Firemen said 27 years of firefighting and this was his first Deerstand fire. Looking back we all feel lucky that they weren't in the stand because we think it may have malfunctioned and started on fire. The heater was in the middle of a 8x8 stand sitting on the floor so it did not tip and nothing could have fell on it. Lesson is never leave a heater like this unattended. On a lighter note we all went staight down to Gander Mtn. and purchased 2 new guns. We told them our story and they really gave my dad and nephew some great deals. Great people in there at the Baxter store. Well were just going to sight the new guns in this morning and it's back to the woods. Good luck all.

[Ed Carlson]

Well..bad deal on the loss of gear for sure but a good thing nobody got hurt. Also great to hear you received good service at your local sporting store.

[slipperybob]

Is the BlackCat the one with the two little legs? I've always thought that one is a dangerous design.

[BUSHWAC]

We had one burn up winter camping one time. We used to bring them in our tents.....not any more. It gave Duffman and Kunzeye and myself a nice late night show!!

[DTro]

This story has been all over the news this morning, glad nobody was hurt.

Heard it on multiple radio stations including the KQ morning show.

BTW, did it look like this one?

[BUSHWAC]

No, the one that burned up on us was the one you screw in the 1# tank and then it rest on the tank and legs at like a 45deg angle. It has the big fiber heating element.

[Duffman]

Not to mention, our episode might have had a little "operator error" behind it.

I remember waking up in the middle of the night in my tent wondering what in the heck was going on, there was a mini-roar of jet propane, and the sky was all lit up! First thought was that one of my campmates was now a gooey mess of melted nylon. Nahhh, just a close call.

[Powerstroke]

Saw this story on the Conservation Officer tales. The officer went into the store to ask about registrations and the clerk told the story because of the people trying to buy guns. It explained about the burning deer stand.

[Sandmannd]

I'm glad to hear no one was hurt. Gear is replaceable, people aren't. Good to hear the store took good care of you.