Bonfire burns victim still feels pain two years on

A woman who suffered flash flame burns from a garden bonfire said she still feels pain two years after the accident.

Maureen Pickles, from Almondsbury near Bristol, said she remembers little of the incident, which happened as she was building a bonfire in her garden, apart from being "immediately aware I was on fire".

She said she was on her own at the time, but her neighbours heard her yells for help, and the next thing she knew she was meeting burns consultant Chris Wearn when she woke up in Southmead Hospital.

"Without them [the neighbours] I probably wouldn't be here," Pickles told BBC Radio Bristol.

Pickles spent 10 weeks in hospital, nine of which were in the burns unit, where she said staff were "incredible, so professional and so kind".

"All the skin from my thighs was transferred to the rest of me. My chest, back, arms, face and my hands were all burnt," she said.

"It's quite painful; not to be recommended. I'd say to anyone thinking about any kind of fuel to do a garden bonfire, please don't do it.

"Your burn injury is there for life; your scar is there for life. Sometimes the pain too."

The burns team who treated Pickles featured on the six-part BBC Two documentary series Emergency 24/7, which looked at the everyday pressures and complex teamwork required to run the hospital's adult Major Trauma Centre, a specialist regional unit.

It followed staff as they cared for patients, from their initial arrival in the emergency department to diagnosis and treatment.

Another patient on the unit, John, from Bristol, also took part in the programme; he was being treated after his garden shed exploded about 10ft (3 metres) away from him after his model aeroplane erupted into flames.

He suffered severe burns to his face, chest and arms.

The 74-year-old said: "It was the shock of it, red hot air."

He described his scalp as being "painful" and on a scale of "3/10", and "it's a bit like stinging nettles".

Experts ruled due to his injuries his chances of dying were one in three. He then underwent urgent surgery to ensure his blood supply continued to flow.

"It was serious business. I knew I was pretty sick," he said.

John spent several weeks recovering in hospital before being discharged to community nurses who cared for his scarring at home.

Wearn told BBC Radio Bristol that he sees a large number of burns despite "lots of prevention work".

"You focus on the job in hand, and the patient in front of you," he said.

"[You're] very clinical about it; you're focused on getting the best outcome for the patient and their family."

He said the most common burn he sees is scalds from hot liquid.

His advice for treating a scald is:

• Cool the burn with running water; tepid is fine, for 15 to 20 minutes
• For smaller burns, call 111 for advice, and for larger and more severe burns call 999 for an ambulance
• Cover the burn with a fresh piece of cling film, or non-sticky or non-fluffy dressings if you have them, to keep it covered until it can be treated

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