A Georgia man suffered severe burns Wednesday afternoon when he tried to use a lighter to open a bag of potato chips, authorities said, the New York Post reported.

The victim (75) suffered third degree burns Bruce Frazier, communications director for Dalton, Georgia, told the New York Post in a statement that he was rushed to nearby Baron Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with more than 75 percent of his body injured. . Exit.

Georgia man burns more than 75% of his body after opening a bag of chips with a lighter https://t.co/ifclXw2Us1 pic.twitter.com/AV9ou8Om4S

— New York Post (@nypost) January 4, 2024

incident Occurred The newspaper said in a statement that the incident happened at an apartment complex in Dalton around 4:30 p.m. (Related: Five children who were home alone while their father was shopping for Christmas die in fire, police say: report)

“The victim…was using a lighter to open a bag of potato chips, but was unable to do so with his hands. At that time, the man accidentally attempted self-immolation while sitting in a recliner. '' Frazier told the New York Post in a statement.

The station reported that maintenance staff managed to extinguish the fire in the victim's recliner with a water hose before firefighters arrived, according to a statement from the director.

The victim's condition was not disclosed, but authorities confirmed the 75-year-old man was later taken to a burn center for further tests, the paper said. It reportedly remains unclear whether the chip caused the fire or whether it was due to another cause.

In May 2016, Canadian police arrested Two teenagers allegedly set a bag of potato chips on fire at an Ontario grocery store, causing more than $2 million in damage, according to Global News.

In December, a woman is suspected of dousing her 50-year-old husband with a flammable liquid and setting him on fire in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Reportedly, 92 percent of the man's body suffered burns and he later died in hospital.