Man rushed to hospital after bonfire blaze
Published 29 Jul 2012 09:30
A MAN was taken to hospital with "painful" burns after trying to pour petrol over his bonfire.
Firefighters from Whitley Wood station rushed to the house in Torrington Road, Whitley, at 11pm yesterday, to find a man had accidentally set his trousers alight when the petrol flared up as he tried to make his bonfire bigger.
The man, thought to be in his 50s, was in a lot of pain and discomfort and the crew put burns gel packs on his lower legs before wrapping them in cling film to prevent infection.
An ambulance arrived 10 minutes later and took the victim to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, where he was treated for minor burns.
Crew manager Matt Martin said: "Always keep flammable material away from bonfires.
"In this case, the man knew he'd done wrong as soon as he did it and, because he'd used a petrol can, the vapours had actually ignited before the liquid itself."
Crews from Whitley Wood were also called to five other "out of control" bonfires during the night, where they issued residents with fire safety advice and gave them instructions on how to do the job correctly.
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 29 Jul 12
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