URBANA — A child attending this weekend's University of Illinois Engineering Open House received what fire department officials called minor burns when a model rocket engine backfired on Friday morning.
According to an Urbana Fire Department report, a model rocket engine was being demonstrated as part of the open house shortly after 11 a.m. when it backfired on the bridge crossing the Boneyard Creek in the southwest corner of the Engineering Quad.
The backfiring caused a burn the size of a half dollar on the body of an 8-year-old girl who was attending the event.
The girl, who was not identified, was taken to Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, where she was treated for minor burns.
This is a story?! A minor burn the size of a half dollar?! Must be a slow news day...
Finally, something can be done about these dangerous model rockets. Ban them all, I say.
If we can keep just one "half dollar" burn off of a child, wouldn't it be worth it?