Teen sets himself alight

The mother of a teenager who was found on fire outside his Tauranga home is desperate for answers as to why her son might have set himself on fire.

Tenmark Nielsen, 16, was discovered ablaze in the back garden of his Greerton home by family around 2am on Friday.

His family said yesterday that the Tauranga Boys' College student appeared to have doused himself in petrol, believed to have been taken from the lawnmower, before setting himself alight.

They were desperately trying to unlock his mobile phone which had been found near to where he set himself alight.

Tenmark was flown to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on Friday and was put into an induced coma. He had woken up by yesterday afternoon and was last night in a critical condition in the hospital's burns unit.

The incident has prompted his family to urge other teenagers to talk to someone about issues they might face.

His mother, Lelefu, said his family don't know what could have made the "quiet" and "brainy" rugby player set himself on fire.

Speaking from the hospital yesterday, she said her son, known as Ten, came from a loving and close Christian family.

She and her husband Kaisa are pastors at the Tauranga Samoan Assembly of God church, where all of their 10 children attend.

Lelefu said Ten had come home later than usual on Thursday, but she had checked on him close to midnight and saw him asleep in bed.

"Somewhere between one and two in the morning I heard a voice, like somebody crying, and my husband got up at the same time," she said.

"The whole family was standing and looking at something. I saw him running everywhere inside the house, and he was already burning. It was like a dream. His body was on fire everywhere. He was crying and screaming. He was just wearing shorts and his long pants and jacket were on the ground like they had burned off."

Lelefu said Kaisa then jumped on their son to try to put out the flames, burning his leg in the process.

She then tipped buckets of water over Tenmarks' head to put out the last of the flames.

"I'm just standing there, shocked. I was really scared.

"His skin had just come off. He was lying [face down] and I tried to ask him, 'Please can you tell me what is going on? What happened? Where did the fire come from?', but he couldn't answer me. I have no idea [why it happened]."

Ten's cousin, Ipu Leaso, thought he might have been upset by a text message or phonecall earlier in the evening.

She said a family member had tried to check his phone, which was left outside on the ground, but it was locked with a pin number code.

His mother said Ten is a quiet boy at school, but he gets good marks and is very talented. He plays rugby for his school, and also plays the bass for the church's band.

She said he is always surrounded by friends, and as far as she was aware nothing had been troubling him.

"I am thinking about why ... but I don't know. He's my boy, he's a very good boy and he's close to me.

"He loves me very much."

Tauranga Boys' College deputy principal Ian Stuart said he was "deeply shocked" to learn of the incident.

He said Tenmark is an extremely bright and talented Year 12 student.

"From the school's point of view, and my own, I am shocked and my thoughts go out to the family," he said.

Stuart said he was not aware of any incidents at the school that involved Tenmark.

Tauranga Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier said police were investigating how Ten had caught fire, but that no one else was being sought in connection to the incident.

"Our concern is the health of the boy," said Brazier. "He is still in a critical condition and he needs to be more stable [before police can talk to him]. He has significant burns. It's terrible."

Leaso said she would urge other teenagers to talk to their friends and families if anything was troubling them.

"Ten is a happy boy, but we just don't know and we're all shocked," she said.

Ten's mother and one of his sisters said they would stay at his bedside in hospital this weekend.

Getting help

* YOUTHLINE: Support for young people in need at youthline.co.nz; 0800 376 633.

* Kidsline: Information and telephone counselling for children aged 9 to 13 at kidsline.org.nz; 0800 543 754 (4pm to 6pm weekdays).

* Whatsup: Counselling for children aged 5-18 at whatsup.co.nz; 0800 942 8787 (noon to midnight).

* The Word: Questions answered about life at theword.org.nz.