A person was injured in the process of starting a car in Ōhakune on Sunday.
Ōhakune fire officer John Hotter said the station received a call at 11.55am. He heard that somebody was trying to get a car started when the petrol "went off", and that an ambulance was there.
The fire crew was not required, and he didn't attend.
St John received a call at 11.53am, a spokeswoman said, and a male patient was flown to Hutt Hospital with serious injuries.
She was unable to say whether the person had suffered burns, but the hospital has a specialised burns unit.
