Being a Fire Marshal, I can honestly say, I have seen this happen more times than you would ever imagine. One of the biggest mistakes that is made that causes these events is wrong containers. I have found kerosene in gasoline containers and vice versa. When gasoline is added to a kerosene heater, it will burn normal until the kerosene in the wick burns out and the gasoline is absorbed. These results in flames shooting out of the top of the heater to ceiling height many times. This was an unfortunate accident but could have been prevented. Prayers to the family.