KEY POINTS:
Nine-week-old Tahlia Gardner's brave daddy is fighting for his life in Middlemore Hospital, after a DIY disaster left him with severe burns to 80 per cent of his body.
Two weeks ago, 29-year-old Tauranga man Barrie Gardner was removing linoleum from the floor of the Katikati investment property he and his partner Serina Golder, 27, were renovating, when paint thinner he was using caught alight, causing a massive fireball.
The keen adventurer was able to escape by smashing through a window, but not before the fire claimed much of his skin.
Specialist burns surgeon Dr Richard Wong She told the Herald on Sunday Gardner's situation could not be any more touch-and-go. "If he survives, this will be the largest burn to have survived this degree of injury at Middlemore for the past 10 years."
The challenge was to close Gardner's wounds before he was overwhelmed by deadly infection, recreating the largest organ of the human body - the skin - using only the 20 per cent or so that he had left.
Yesterday the popular thrill seeker - who loves fishing and scuba diving, mountain biking, snowboarding and surfing - remained in a serious but stable condition in Middlemore's ICU unit.
He was in an induced coma, his mother Lorraine Gardner told the Bay of Plenty Times, though responding to voices and wiggling his feet whenever he heard Tahlia cry.
"He has got so many friends, he is just the kind of guy everybody loves. They have all been saying, 'Oh that bugger will survive. He's so stubborn, he'll make it'," his mother told the newspaper.
She said Barrie and Serina had bought the Katikati house just before Tahlia was born.
They were fixing it up with a view to renting it out - renovations were nearly complete when the horrific fireball struck.
The family were remaining positive, but were aware any progress would be an uphill battle.
"It was a terrible accident, but he is a fighter," Lorraine Gardner said. "He's holding his own at the moment and that's all we can ask for."
She said a group of Barrie's friends had decided to go to Katikati to finish the renovations her son had started.
Wong She said severe burns from DIY activities were "extremely rare". However, the hospital saw a spike of general DIY-related injuries at this time of year, as summer approached.
Wong She said one person a day is admitted to Middlemore's department of plastic surgery with hand injuries from using a skilsaw.
He said hospital staff also noticed increases in the numbers of DIY-related injuries during fine weekends.
He advised potential DIYers to take the utmost care. "Accidents will always happen, but a moment's carelessness can result in hours of surgery and a lifetime of recovery."
Why the paint thinner Gardner was using caught alight is still not known.
Dean Ginders, a vinyl layer for Auckland's DP Flooring, said paint thinner was not usually needed to remove linoleum. However, fumes from substances such as paint thinner could spread easily and ignite just as readily. If working on a house connected to gas, it was important to turn the pilot light off, and to put up signs for anyone nearby.
"You have got to be so careful, the fumes can travel fast. If anyone comes in with a smoke, you get blown up."
He cited a case about a decade ago, when one of his colleagues was laying cork tiles at a North Shore house, using sealant on the floor.
"He didn't realise [the house] was on gas, and the fumes ignited and literally blew the kitchen benches through the walls.
"Luckily, he had nearly finished the job and was by the door. He was wearing trackpants and only his feet were badly burned. It can suck all the oxygen out of the room."
