Firefighter Dies in California Fire Sparked by Gender Reveal Party

A blaze sparked by an explosive device set off at a gender reveal party in Yucaipa, Calif. (between Los Angeles and Palm Springs), earlier this month has claimed the life of a firefighter, according to CNN.
The firefighter’s identity has been withheld until the next of kin can be notified, but it is confirmed that the death occurred Thursday.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the family, friends and fellow firefighters during this time,” the U.S. Forest Service wrote on Twitter following news of the death.
The El Dorado fire in the San Bernardino Mountains is one of two major blazes, the other beiing the Bobcat Fire, that have been raging for weeks in Southern California.
By Friday morning, the El Dorado Fire had burned more than 21,000 acres and was 66 percent contained, according to CNN.
While the family that set off the pyrotechnic device said the fire was accidental, they could still be held criminally or financially responsible for the blaze.
Gender reveal parties that often rely on pink and blue pyrotechnics to announce if a baby is a boy or a girl have grown in popularity since the first incidence of one in 2008, even as the idea of gender as a construct has become part of the cultural discussion and more people are identifying as nonbinary, genderqueer, and so on.
The woman believed to have created the gender reveal party when she cut into a cake with pink on the inside in 2008, Jenna Karvunidis, has now denounced gender reveal parties and the toxic masculinity inherent in them.
“Stop it. Stop having these stupid parties,” Karvunidis wrote in response to the news of the El Dorado fire. “For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid’s penis. No one cares but you.
“It was 116 degrees in Pasadena yesterday and this tool thought it would be smart to light a fire about his kid’s dick. Toxic masculinity is men thinking they need to explode something because simply enjoying a baby party is for sissies.”

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Tracy E. Gilchrist