Lacrosse stick sparks blaze that injures teen, kills dog

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Mon Jun 6, 2016, 10:00 AM - Edit history (1)

What? For people who are wondering how a lacrosse stick can catch on fire, here's what happened.

A lacrosse stick consists of a shaft, which is metal, carbon fiber, or (rarely) wood; a head, which is usually plastic; and stringing that fills the head. In the women's game, the stringing is strictly defined, but for the men's game, there's a lot of leeway. It is not uncommon for players to string their own heads. Like so:

After the stringing is done, the ends of the laces and mesh material have to be melted to keep them from fraying. Players do this with a cigarette lighter. Every now and then, a player will get busted for bringing a lighter to school, when all he's done is left it in his pocket or equipment bag after stringing a lacrosse head.

In this case, the melted end of the stringing material was hot enough to ignite the couch.

Lacrosse stick sparks blaze that injures teen, kills dog

By Aimee Ortiz Globe Staff June 06, 2016

A fire in a Winchester home injured a teenage boy and killed a family dog Sunday morning after the smoldering laces of a recently repaired lacrosse stick ignited a couch, investigators said.

Lieutenant Jim Whitaker of the Winchester Fire Department said the fire severely damaged a single-family home at 846 Main St., displacing all three residents. Whitaker said the damage to the home was about $250,000.

The fire started around 10 a.m. when someone in the house placed the lacrosse stick on a couch. The laces, which were still hot from being burned as part of the repairs, ignited the furniture, said Jennifer Mieth, a spokesperson for the State Fire Marshall’s office.

The teen was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, and is expected to survive his injuries.

Aimee Ortiz can be reached at [e-mail]. Follow her on Twitter @aimee_ortiz.

[braddy]

1. In elementary school I used to carry a zippo and a knife, and twine, times sure changed.