Grandma lit on fire during Final Destination 6 scene breaks record with terrifying stunt
Grandma is on fire… though that’s right where she wants to be!
Doused in a skin-protectant gel, and soaked in accelerant, stunt performer Yvette Ferguson (Canada, b. 31 July 1955) has become the oldest person to perform a full body burn stunt in history, at the incredible age of 68 years and 227 days.
Filming a scene for the sixth Final Destination movie, Bloodlines (2025), she played the part of a panicked diner escaping a collapsing glass floor, only to be lit on fire by a chef’s kitchen blowtorch – convincingly sprinting around the restaurant while ablaze during the supernatural horror movie’s set on 14 March 2024.
Image credit: Warner Bros.
Yet for Yvette, this feat is all in a day’s work.
Over the last four decades, she has fallen down stairs, taken hits to the chest, rolled in cars, and completed all manner of stunts for her job – and despite her age, she is still performing and loving it!
In an interview with GWR, she explained that she auditioned for the role of Mrs Fuller because she just couldn’t pass up another chance to act. There’s limited opportunities for stunt women in their late 60s, but she still adores the process and was delighted by the thought of finally being able to do a fiery explosion shot.
“I’m in good shape, and as there’s not many stunt ladies my age, I can do parts others can’t do,” said Yvette. “I still feel young!”
Yvette first started doing stunts in Vancouver, Canada, in 1986. There were few women in the business back then, and her earliest experience was a squib hit to the chest (a simulated gunshot wound) where she was doubling for an older woman.
From there, her career expanded into acting and more dramatic scenes, featuring piperolls (flipping vehicles) and stairfalls (as it sounds), as well as numerous appearances on TV shows and movies throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Read more stories about record-breaking stunts in our dedicated Arts and Entertainment section!
Yvette at the World Stunt Awards red carpet
Nevertheless, the Final Destination set was her first chance to work with flames and explosions – and Yvette was all fired up.
“I had never done a fire gag before, so it was an awesome opportunity to do a gag most stunt people would love to do,” she said. “I was so happy to do this stunt and work with everyone to keep me safe. [It was a] full burn, explosion. Not everyone gets to do this – and at my age, wow, I was so excited.”
To prepare for the scene, she worked alongside stunt coordinator Simon Burnett and Colin Decker at Fire for Hire, the latter of whom was credited with creating an Academy Award-winning gel with Dustin Brooks for producing fire stunts.
The group started off with small “gags”, eventually advancing to the full body burn, allowing Yvette to become comfortable with the heat and experience before the big day.
In total, the scene was split into two shots – one where she is lit on fire by the chef, and another where she sprints around the room ablaze before igniting a gas vent and prompting a fiery explosion.
And though these performances always have an element of danger (certainly don’t try this at home!) Yvette trusted her coordinators and the Final Destination team, approaching the scenes with the calm mindset of an industry professional.
As she dressed up a bottom layer of Nomex flame-resistant clothing, topped with two layers of garments soaked in the heat-protectant gel, it was like she was suiting up for battle – albeit a campaign filled with finely-clad restaurant-goers.
Finally, Yvette gets sprayed all over with the same gel to protect her skin, and she is soaked in a special accelerant cocktail that ignites at the touch of a flame.
As she raced around the set, she said that she was only focused on following the path of the cameras and staying on her mark – unconcerned about the smoking tendrils that sparked across her clothes and hair.
“The whole team worked together, prepared me, and watched all my moves,” said Yvette. “If at any point I feel like I’m not safe, or feel like my skin is starting to burn, I go down and say ‘hot!’ and they put me out instantly [with a] fire extinguisher.”
She added that: “I have to trust my team – and I really did trust them all, and made some great friends too.”
Image credit: Warner Bros.
After her two scenes were filmed, Yvette was proud of the final result, saying that the cast and crew were incredibly encouraging and offered “lots of laughs and support to all.”
Naturally, everyone was excited to see that she had pulled off the feat, and she also commented that: “I am humbled and thrilled that this opportunity was given to me.”
Her excitement increased tenfold after learning that she had accomplished the Guinness World Records title, and she said that she still can’t believe that her career has taken her to such heights.
“My kids when they were young loved looking at the Guinness World Records book and reading about the records people had achieved,” she said. “Now here I am! Crazy.”
And as she continues to perform, we’re sure that her husband, seven children, and 10 grandchildren will love to hear all about the exploits of their record-breaking, stunt-performing grandmother – even if they have to wait until they’re a little older to watch Final Destination: Bloodlines.
So congratulations, Yvette – you are Officially Amazing!
Header image: photo of stunt provided by Warner Bros.