Science teacher under investigation after putting hand sanitizer on child’s hands, lighting them on fire

Granbury Police Lt. Russell Grizzard told TODAY that the incident, which occurred on April 1 at Granbury Middle School, left the student with "possible third degree burns on his hands."

Grizzard said that the experiment had "reportedly been done multiple times throughout the day" without any issues.

"It looks like every class that day had a group of students volunteer to do it. There was also another classroom that was doing that same thing where there was no incident," Grizzard told NBC 5.

Grizzard said that the child had initially been taken to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, before he was transferred to Parkland Memorial Hospital's Burn Center in Dallas for treatment.

According to TODAY, a hospital spokesperson has confirmed that the child has been discharged from the hospital.

"They can be pretty serious," Grizzard said, referring to third-degree burns. "I don’t know the extent of the student’s burns right now. We’ll know more as we talk to them again, and as we get medical records."

Grizzard said that they are investigating the incident, and that the 37-year-old teacher, who has since resigned, could face a charge of injury to a child.

On Twitter, Granbury ISD confirmed that the female teacher has resigned, and that the district is cooperating with law enforcement on the incident.

Dr. Anthony Pizon, chief of medical toxicology at UPMC in Pittsburgh, previously told TODAY that hand sanitizers can be especially flammable.

"Hand sanitizers with high concentrations of ethanol and hydroxypropyl are flammable," he said. "Any amount of hand sanitizer can light on fire. The volume controls how rapidly the flame will spread. If you have a little bit on your hands, a little bit will light on fire."

He added that hand sanitizer evaporates into a gas as it dries, which can also catch fire.

Pizon said hands should be fully dried before using lighters, matches, and fire.

"You should make sure your hands are completely dry before you light a match," he said.