January 3, 2019
A man is being treated for severe burns after being allegedly pushed into an open fire on the Coromandel in the early hours of New Year's Day.
The incident occurred at 4.30am at Kennedy Bay in the northeastern area of the Coromandel Peninsula.
The man in his 20's, who is thought to be local, had to be airlifted to Middlemore Hospital by the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter with severe burns to his buttocks, hand and lower leg.
Intensive Care Paramedic Russell Rusty Clark said that they arrived in the early hours to a man being treated in the back of an ambulance.
The man told Clark that he had been pushed backwards into an open fire, which Clark believes, was down on the beach area.
"He acknowledged that he had had a fair bit to drink as well which probably helped numb the effects of the pain a little bit but it was certainly starting to wear off.
"The burns were so severe and the buttocks is quite a sensitive area so he was in quite a bit of pain. I managed to give him some pain relief on the way to Middlemore Hospital and that helped settle him."
Before the emergency services reached the man he had managed to get himself to a nearby stream.
"There was some type of stream or creek nearby which he did indicate to me later that it is an area where he goes swimming anyway so he managed to get himself into the creek and cool his burns.
"Which is good in one respect if that is the only water source you have at the time. But I guess for us medical staff it can be a concern because with burns and any open wounds to the skin it's an open source for an infection to get in.
"But his burns got cooled with sterile water afterwards and he will get treatment and most likely antibiotics to fight any potential infection."
Because of the area and severity of the burns, the was taken straight to the national burns centre at Middlemore Hospital.
Clark said they were with the man for less than an hour as it's a relatively short flight from the Coromandel to Auckland by helicopter.
A police spokeswoman confirmed that police were called to an incident at Kennedy Bay in Coromandel shortly after 4am on January 1st.
A man sustained serious, but non-life threatening injuries and was airlifted to hospital and has since been discharged.
Police are investigating the circumstances around what happened and are making enquiries.
