Man became human fireball after deodorant caught fire as he lit barbecue
Thursday September 24 2009
A father of five, Philip Hodger, became a human fireball after deodorant on his body ignited as he lit a family barbecue at his home in Cornwall.
The former scout leader spent two weeks on a life support machine, is still in great pain and will be scarred for life following the accident.
The 32-year-old might have been killed were it not been for the quick thinking of his partner Tonii Gardener who held a hose pipe to his head to douse the flames.
Mr Hodger, from Bodmin, said: "I don't know what happened. I have lit many barbecues before and fires with the Scouts and never been hurt.
"This was horrendous. I was suddenly burning and my children witnessed it all. Tonii was amazing, she rushed around, got the hose and called the emergency services.
"I had not been around petrol or anything that day, so all I can think that caused this freak accident was that I sprayed a deodorant can on myself about 20 minutes beforehand."
Mr Hodger was airlifted to a specialist burns unit at a hospital in Swansea, south Wales, where he spent a month.
He is still receiving treatment for burns to his chest upwards, neck, arms and back of his head which are badly scarred.
His eyesight was saved because he was wearing sun glasses as well as a hat at the time.
He admitted: "Every day is a struggle - I'm in so much pain. Sometimes I don't want to wake up because the pain is so bad."
Mr Hodger is having to use a mobility scooter as he now can't walk very far and is suffering nightmares and flashbacks for which he is about to receive counselling.
"I want to use my experience to try and prevent this from happening to anyone else," he said.
© Telegraph.co.uk
- Alastair Jamieson
