THE victim of a horrific chip pan accident ran across a street with skin hanging off his body and leaving a trail of bloody footprints, shocked neighbours said today.
John Bage suffered severe burns to around a third of his body after the handle of his chip pan broke off, covering him from head to foot in blazing oil.
The hysterical 35-year-old screamed for help as he ran to neighbours, collapsing in agony halfway up a flight of stairs.
The accident happened on Monday evening as Mr Bage tried to move the chip pan after the oil caught fire. Flaming liquid poured over his chest, arms, legs and feet.
He even suffered injuries to the inside of his throat as a result of inhaling fumes.
Footprints
Mr Bage ran across Glebe Road in Whitburn, West Lothian, wearing only his shorts, leaving bloody footprints on the ground that could still be seen today.
After finding no-one in at the first home he went to, Mr Bage tried the address of a friend, Leigh Cameron, 22.
Miss Cameron said: “It was horrible. It’s something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
“He was hysterical. He was shouting, ‘my house is on fire, my house is on fire!’
“He tried to get up the stairs to my house but could only make it halfway up.
“His feet were terrible, and his arms were badly burned. He also had burns in his throat from inhaling the fumes.”
She said she and her parents gave John first aid, including putting cold towels on his burns and keeping pressure on the injuries.
Miss Cameron, who accompanies Mr Bage to St John’s hospital, where he was treated for his burns, said he was in incredible pain in the ambulance.
She said: “The paramedics gave him a full dose of morphine but he was still in a lot of pain in the ambulance. He had burns to 30 percent of his body.
“He had skin hanging off him. John is a big guy and he can take some amount of pain but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
She added: “He just said he put on his dinner and the next minute he saw flames bursting out from the kitchen. He said he tried to put it out but he dropped the pan.”
According to Miss Cameron, Mr Bage has since been transferred to a hospital in Glasgow for treatment.
Scary
Pensioner Danny Dunn, 76, lives in the flat below Mr Bage and had to be rescued by neighbours who saw the house was on fire.
He said: “I hope the boy’s OK. It was quite scary.
“I’m sorry he’s injured but it could have been much worse.”
He said neighbour Billy O’Donnell, who has had a heart and lung transplant for cystic fribrosis, ran up into the burning flat to extinguish the flames.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that a man received ‘severe burns’ in the incident.
A spokeswoman said: “The kitchen is the most common place in the home for a house fire to start. Chip pans in particular catch fire easily. We would urge people to swap to an electric deep fat fryer, which is much safer.
“If a chip pan catches fire, don’t try to move the pan or throw water on it. Call the Fire and Rescue Service, even if you think you’ve put the fire out.
“If you can, turn off the heat – but don’t take risks. Put a damp towel over the pan to smother the flames. Leave the room closing the door behind you to avoid smoke inhalation.“
