Ohio woman critical after fire-breathing act goes wrong

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio woman was hospitalized in critical condition after she was burned while performing a fire-breathing act at a Halloween-themed running event.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the 23-year-old woman was performing around 7 p.m. Saturday near Nationwide Arena at the Blood Run 5K, a benefit for people with blood disorders, when paramedics were called.

Social media posts showed the woman blowing a cloud of flame above her head then someone wrote, “The fire breather just caught on fire.”

Scanner traffic indicated she was burned on her face, neck and top half of her body and transported to Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University.

Ashley Keach of Columbus identified herself on Facebook as the fire-breather. She said her injuries were minor and she would be “just fine.”