A flamethrower is a mechanical incendiary weapon, designed to project a controllable stream of fire over a long distance. Flamethrowers were first used during the First World War, but came into wide use during the Second and at later times. Some flamethrowers project a stream of flammable liquid through a flame, while others project a gas flame; most military flamethrowers use liquids, though commercial versions tend to use high-pressure propane or natural gas, which is considered safer to use. Flamethrowers are typically used, both in military and civilian or commercial sectors, when the need for a controlled burn arises, such as in agriculture and other forms of land management. Though flamethrowers are typically imagined as being carried by a single operator on foot, they can also be mounted onto a vehicle.
Several men, presumably Costa Rican health officials, used flamethrowers to destroy the aberrant form that Richard Levine was examining before he could make a full identification. Presumably, these were liquid-based military flamethrowers.
