Beau Orne-Glieman remembers being in tremendous pain when he suffered burns at his property two months ago.
Mr Orne-Glieman is one of many people who have been treated by the Royal Darwin Hospital Burns service, which has experienced a spike in accelerant related flame injuries this year.
The father of four was about to do a burn-off on his property having cleared trees to build his dream home, when his life changed.
“I grabbed the jerry can and poured the petrol out and then took the can away and came back to light it up and it lit up on me,” Orne-Glieman said.
He suffered significant burns to both forearms and legs but as his wife and children were present at the time they were able to quickly put the fire out. Immediate burn first aid was applied to impacted areas including 20 minutes under cool running water before emergency treatment was received at the Palmerston Regional Hospital. Further treatment was required and Mr Orne-Glieman operated on at the Royal Darwin Hospital so his wounds could be cleaned. He was later admitted to the burns unit for further treatment.
This experience is a reminder to Territorians to follow the immediate steps in burns first aid in the event of an injury.
- Cool the burn under 20 minutes of cool running water
- Cover the burn with cling wrap
- Call Triple Zero.
Mr Orne-Glieman praised the staff at the RDH Burns Service for the care he received while being treated and in recovery.
“The team were awesome and made everything easy. They explained to me everything that was happening so I understood what was happening,” he said.
Two months on, the 35-year-old said his recovery was going well after the burn incident and that he had returned to work and was waiting for his dream home to be completed, hopefully by mid-July.
Mr Orne-Glieman said he hoped his story would be a reminder for rural residents to be careful when doing burn-offs.
RDH Burns Clinical Nurse Consultant, Dave Jacinto, said there had been a spike in accelerant related flame injuries this year with seven people being admitted to the burns unit this year. On average, about eight patients are admitted to RDH after suffering from burns while using fuel to burn waste on rural properties.
“Burns involving petrol often affect large areas and can be very deep. People may end up with scars that can require skin grafts and life-long management,” he said.
“Burns often affect the psychological and psychosocial wellbeing of patients. Some say ’their lives flashed before their eyes’ because of the fireball explosion created by this phenomena.”
Mr Jacinto urged the public to be cautious when burning waste or lighting camp fires to prevent injury
“Avoid using accelerants to start or fuel the fire, and at all times keep children away from the fire zone when lighting fires.”
Media contact: Russel Guse - 0436 933 810
Images: RDH Burns Clinical Nurse Consultant, Dave Jacinto, treats burns patient Beau Orne-Glieman.
