What are the dangers in using a Kelly kettle?
A Kelly Kettle is a portable device for boiling water outdoors. It uses twigs and other small combustible materials in a small fire chamber to heat water in a water jacket. They are also called various names including – Storm Kettle, Ghillie Kettle, Thermette and Volcano Kettle. These kettles are very popular with bushcraft, Forest School and Outdoor Woodland Learning groups.
The Kelly Kettle is safe and easy to use as can be seen with this short video.
The main danger from using a Kelly kettle comes from potential for burns. This can be when pouring hot water out of the kettle as they can be heavy – but most people can do this sensibly.
However, the main danger is from forgetting one simple rule –
Once you have removed the protective cork/stopper from kettle and filled kettle with water. DO NOT REPLACE THE STOPPER.
If the cork is left in the kettle as the water boils, the stopper can be ‘blown’ and pop off explosively and release a huge spurt of boiling water. The news article below illustrates why this is so dangerous.
You can now get whistles to go on top of the spout that alert you to the near-boiling point which is much safer.
“Three children suffer burns after camping kettle explodes”
“Three families have been left shocked and angry after their children suffered burns following an accident at a school activity in Fife. The children were taking part in an outdoor cooking class when the accident happened. Two pupils were treated for scalding to their faces and bodies and the third had burns on his back as a result of a camping kettle exploding.” source: BBC News Read more about this incident here.
After an internal investigation, it was found that a gap in training and formal risk assessment resulted in the misuse of the Kelly Kettle.
First aid for scalds and burns:
Essential first aid: Keep the burn site clean and apply lots of cool clean water to the burn or scald, for at least 20 minutes. Read more first aid for burns here.
Use some burn gel?: Some outdoor practitioners now use burn gels in their first aid kits. We advise people to research consider any additional first aid kit content especially when you have a duty of care to provide first aid treatment to someone else. In a workplace, doing a risk assessment might justify the need for having burn gels in your first aid kits. Read more about burn gels here.
Get confident – get trained!
Knowing what to do BEFORE it happens is essential and attending a first aid course will give you the knowledge and the confidence to deal with many first aid incidents. Our courses are structured to give you confidence in dealing with an incident as well as the competence to do good quality first aid. We offer a wide range of first aid courses designed especially for equestrians, yard owners and grooms of all levels which will ensure you are prepared for all weather related situations. To find out which first aid course is best for you check out our range of first aid courses here.
Everyone on our courses receives a FREE digital first aid manual. We have a range of manuals relevant to the courses we teach – Outdoor, Equestrian, First Aid at Work, Paediatric and Sports. They are a great resource that you can download onto your phone or other device and have all that first aid knowledge at your fingertips. You can view them and buy them for less than £5 here.
