KEY POINTS:
Middlemore Hospital has reported an increase in patients with serious burns this summer as holidaymakers toss petrol on barbecues to make them hotter.
The burns unit treated 11 patients with barbecue accelerant-related burns between December 1, 2008, and January 13, 2009. It recorded two cases over the same period last summer.
Dr Amber Moazzam, plastic surgeon at the national burns centre, said too many burns were "totally avoidable".
Some patients said they had struggled to light the barbecue so had thrown on a dash of petrol, causing flames to flare towards their face, arms and sometimes their clothing, he said.
They suffered burns to up to 50 per cent of their body.
Dr Moazzam urges people to take care when cooking on barbecues - burns happen quickly but the effects last forever. Do not barbecue while drunk, watch the wind direction and "please do not throw petrol on the fire."
Simon Ussher, 38, is recovering from burns to 15 per cent of his body as a result of what he said was a "stupid" and "preventable" barbecue accident on New Year's Eve.
Mr Ussher, who runs a transport company in Mangere, was preparing for a relaxing afternoon with his workers but instead spent the night in the hospital operating theatre.
Having cleaned the barbecue surface with methylated spirits, he placed the bottle on the wooden tray next to the grill and lit the barbecue.
The heat caused the bottle to melt, then explode, firing flaming spirits at his cotton T-shirt and denim shorts.
"Initially I didn't realise I was covered in meths, I felt a bit of a flame and tried to pat it out," he said.
Even though he got himself out of the clothes and under a hose
within a few seconds, burns covered his right hand, left leg and his torso.
Mr Ussher watched his skin peel off as he stood under the hose and had to pop "grapefruit-sized" blisters that filled up with water.
He spent no more than five minutes under the hose and his skin was still burning as he headed to nearby Middlemore Hospital.
Dr Moazzam said burns must be held under running water for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour.
"If you can cool the burn quickly the extent of the burn is minimised - if not the skin keeps burning. The
tissue gets heated up and if it is not dissipated quickly can cause burns that are irreversible."
The burns should then be covered in something clean - glad wrap was best - and the patient taken to the local doctor, or the hospital emergency department, Dr Moazzam said.
Depending on the depth of the burn, surgeons might shave off skin from another part of the body to replace singed skin, and in serious cases artificial skin might have to be used.
Superficial burns could heal in less than a week but serious burns could take up to three months, Dr Moazzam said.
Mr Ussher will be away from work for two more weeks as he receives outpatient treatment. He said the healing process had made him very tired.
He feels "bloody lucky" not to have suffered more than he did, and hopes that by sharing his experience he will stop other people from making the same, preventable mistake.
"It's a waste of everyone's time - hospital staff] have got more important people to deal with than twerps like us."
IF BURNED
* Get away from the source of the burn.
* Put out the flames.
* Get to the nearest source of running water and cool for no less than 15 minutes.
* Wrap in clingfilm.
* Get to the nearest emergency department or your local GP.
