'I could have lost a limb': Man left with severe burns after buck's party prank
A man was left with severe burns after a friend threw an aerosol can into the campfire.
Brent Dixon, from Torquay in Victoria’ssouthwest, spoke from his hospital bed to warn others of the dangers.
Mr Dixon was left with painful burns to 14 per cent of his body.
“It could have been a lot worse,” burns victim Brent Dixon said.
“I could have lost my face, lost my sight, lost a limb.”
The 40-year-old was at a buck’s party when his friend dropped a spray paint can into a campfire as a prank and it exploded.
Mr Dixon said he was “engulfed by a fireball”.
“In the hands, bit on the face, down the right side and to the arms and legs,” he said.
Friends saved his life by dunking him in a nearby river.
Mr Dixon says his friend feels bad about the accident.
“He’s probably feeling worse about the whole thing than I am,” he said.
There are many videos online of petrol, methylated spirits and aerosol cans causing fiery chaos, and the message is simple.
“Be very careful around accelerants,” Heather Cleland, from The Alfred Hospital burns unit, said.
“Don’t mess around with things that explode.”
Medical authorities are frustrated by the frequency of preventable injuries at Christmas and family functions.
Over the past nine years, The Alfred Hospital has treated more than 1000 people after accelerant incidents.
These incidents affect males five times more than females.
Mr Dixon returns home to his young family next week and determined to spread the message.
“You don’t want to be in this situation,” Mr Dixon said.
“Even a tiny little thing throwing a cup of fuel on the fire you can end up here or worse.”