Firefighter sets record for longest and fastest run while set on fire

A firefighter has set the record for the longest distance run – while on fire and without oxygen. Jonathan Vero, a 39-year-old from France, ran 893 feet while wearing a protective suit that was set ablaze. It took him just 17 seconds. 

The task seems like an odd one, but the record for longest distance full body burn run without oxygen has been broken seven times since 2009, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The record was originally set in 2009 by Keith Malcolm in the U.K. Vero, who spent three months training for the feat, ran three times the length of Malcolm's run. 

The most recent record set was 670 feet. Even though he ran more than 200 feet farther than that, Vero did it 7.58 seconds faster.

Vero says he has "always had a passion for fire," and hasn't stopped playing with it since he was a kid. He is a not only a firefighter, but also a stuntman. 

He said he wanted to go back to the "city that saw me grow up" and attempt the record on the track in Haubourdin, France, where he trained as a kid. 

He is used to being engulfed in flames. He performs stunts like fire juggling and fire eating, and the "human torch," where he sets his whole body on fire.

He said he likes "pushing the limits." That much is clear – and he's not done. "I've still got a lot to try and a lot of records to go for," he said.

In:
• Guinness World Records

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.